Soluble interleukin-2 receptor levels on admission associated with mortality in coronavirus disease 2019

Kaya, Hiroyasu; Kaji, Masahide; Usuda, Daisuke

OBJECTIVES: Early and simple detection of high-risk groups is crucial to minimizing severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-related death, and soluble interleukin 2 receptor (sIL2R) has been suspected to offer a prognostic marker for infectious diseases. We validated the usefulness of sIL2R as a marker for the related deaths. METHODS: This retrospective observational study enrolled participants who showed positive results for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 RNA admitted to our hospital between April 1 and September 30, 2020. Of the 102 patients enrolled in this study, sIL2R levels were measured in 87 patients. For comparisons between survival and non-survival groups, potential confounding variables were entered into univariate models, and variables showing significant correlations (p < 0.05) in those models were added to a multivariate model. RESULTS: Age ≥60 years and sIL2R level ≥1060 U/ml were significantly associated with mortality in univariate analyses. Only sIL2R level correlated significantly with mortality on multivariate logistic regression analysis. Further, sequential sIL2R levels in 3 patients were increased at progression or death. CONCLUSION: SIL2R on admission and sequential monitoring of sIL2R might reflect disease severity.