Correlations between IL-6 serum level and olfactory dysfunction severity in COVID-19 patients: a preliminary study

Luigi Angelo Vaira; Andrea De Vito; Giovanna Deiana; Chiara Pes; Federica Giovanditto; Vito Fiore; Jerome R. Lechien; Serge Daniel Le Bon; Sven Saussez; Giordano Madeddu; Sergio Babudieri; Antonio Pazzola; Franco Bandiera; Alessandro Giuseppe Fois; Andrea Fausto Piana; Claire Hopkins; Giacomo De Riu

doi:10.1007/s00405-021-06868-5

Correlations between IL-6 serum level and olfactory dysfunction severity in COVID-19 patients: a preliminary study

Luigi Angelo Vaira^*, Andrea De Vito, Giovanna Deiana, Chiara Pes, Federica Giovanditto, Vito Fiore, Jerome R. Lechien, Serge Daniel Le Bon, Sven Saussez, Giordano Madeddu, Sergio Babudieri, Antonio Pazzola, Franco Bandiera, Alessandro Giuseppe Fois, Andrea Fausto Piana, Claire Hopkins, Giacomo De Riu

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

20 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Background: Interleukin 6 (IL-6) is a proinflammatory cytokine that is secreted by cells infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and it is widely recognized as a negative prognostic factor. The purpose of this study was to analyze the correlations between the olfactory scores determined by psychophysical tests and the serum levels of IL-6 in patients affected by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) Methods: Patients underwent psychophysical olfactory assessment with Connecticut Chemosensory Clinical Research Center test and IL-6 plasma level determination within 10 days of the clinical onset of COVID-19. Results: Seventy-four COVID-19 patients were included in this study. COVID-19 staged as mild in 34 patients, moderate in 26 and severe in 14 cases. There were no significant differences in olfactory scores across the different COVID-19 severity groups. In the patient series, the median plasma level of IL-6 was 7.7 pg/mL (IQR 3.7–18.8). The concentration of IL-6 was found to be significantly correlated with the severity of COVID-19 with a directly proportional relationship. The correlation between IL-6 plasma concentrations and olfactory scores was weak (r_s = 0.182) and not significant (p = 0.12). Conclusions: In COVID-19 patients, psychophysical olfactory scores did not show significant correlations with the plasma levels of a well-recognized negative prognostic factor such as IL-6. This observation casts some shadows on the positive prognostic value of olfactory dysfunctions.

Original language	English
Journal	European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-021-06868-5
Publication status	Accepted/In press - 2021

Keywords

Anosmia
Coronavirus
COVID-19
Cytokine
Cytokine storm
IL-6
Interleukin 6
SARS-CoV-2
Smell

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Vaira, L. A., De Vito, A., Deiana, G., Pes, C., Giovanditto, F., Fiore, V., Lechien, J. R., Le Bon, S. D., Saussez, S., Madeddu, G., Babudieri, S., Pazzola, A., Bandiera, F., Fois, A. G., Piana, A. F., Hopkins, C., & De Riu, G. (Accepted/In press). Correlations between IL-6 serum level and olfactory dysfunction severity in COVID-19 patients: a preliminary study. European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-021-06868-5

@article{5f33e9e47f194c5fbc5b05f3d1f741e0,

title = "Correlations between IL-6 serum level and olfactory dysfunction severity in COVID-19 patients: a preliminary study",

abstract = "Background: Interleukin 6 (IL-6) is a proinflammatory cytokine that is secreted by cells infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and it is widely recognized as a negative prognostic factor. The purpose of this study was to analyze the correlations between the olfactory scores determined by psychophysical tests and the serum levels of IL-6 in patients affected by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) Methods: Patients underwent psychophysical olfactory assessment with Connecticut Chemosensory Clinical Research Center test and IL-6 plasma level determination within 10 days of the clinical onset of COVID-19. Results: Seventy-four COVID-19 patients were included in this study. COVID-19 staged as mild in 34 patients, moderate in 26 and severe in 14 cases. There were no significant differences in olfactory scores across the different COVID-19 severity groups. In the patient series, the median plasma level of IL-6 was 7.7 pg/mL (IQR 3.7–18.8). The concentration of IL-6 was found to be significantly correlated with the severity of COVID-19 with a directly proportional relationship. The correlation between IL-6 plasma concentrations and olfactory scores was weak (rs = 0.182) and not significant (p = 0.12). Conclusions: In COVID-19 patients, psychophysical olfactory scores did not show significant correlations with the plasma levels of a well-recognized negative prognostic factor such as IL-6. This observation casts some shadows on the positive prognostic value of olfactory dysfunctions.",

keywords = "Anosmia, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Cytokine, Cytokine storm, IL-6, Interleukin 6, SARS-CoV-2, Smell",

author = "Vaira, {Luigi Angelo} and {De Vito}, Andrea and Giovanna Deiana and Chiara Pes and Federica Giovanditto and Vito Fiore and Lechien, {Jerome R.} and {Le Bon}, {Serge Daniel} and Sven Saussez and Giordano Madeddu and Sergio Babudieri and Antonio Pazzola and Franco Bandiera and Fois, {Alessandro Giuseppe} and Piana, {Andrea Fausto} and Claire Hopkins and {De Riu}, Giacomo",

note = "Funding Information: Open access funding provided by Universit{\`a} degli Studi di Sassari within the CRUI-CARE Agreement. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2021, The Author(s). Copyright: Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.",

year = "2021",

doi = "10.1007/s00405-021-06868-5",

language = "English",

journal = "European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology",

issn = "0937-4477",

publisher = "Springer Verlag",

}

Vaira, LA, De Vito, A, Deiana, G, Pes, C, Giovanditto, F, Fiore, V, Lechien, JR, Le Bon, SD, Saussez, S, Madeddu, G, Babudieri, S, Pazzola, A, Bandiera, F, Fois, AG, Piana, AF, Hopkins, C & De Riu, G 2021, 'Correlations between IL-6 serum level and olfactory dysfunction severity in COVID-19 patients: a preliminary study', European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-021-06868-5

TY - JOUR

T1 - Correlations between IL-6 serum level and olfactory dysfunction severity in COVID-19 patients

T2 - a preliminary study

AU - Vaira, Luigi Angelo

AU - De Vito, Andrea

AU - Deiana, Giovanna

AU - Pes, Chiara

AU - Giovanditto, Federica

AU - Fiore, Vito

AU - Lechien, Jerome R.

AU - Le Bon, Serge Daniel

AU - Saussez, Sven

AU - Madeddu, Giordano

AU - Babudieri, Sergio

AU - Pazzola, Antonio

AU - Bandiera, Franco

AU - Fois, Alessandro Giuseppe

AU - Piana, Andrea Fausto

AU - Hopkins, Claire

AU - De Riu, Giacomo

N1 - Funding Information: Open access funding provided by Università degli Studi di Sassari within the CRUI-CARE Agreement. Publisher Copyright: © 2021, The Author(s). Copyright: Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

PY - 2021

Y1 - 2021

N2 - Background: Interleukin 6 (IL-6) is a proinflammatory cytokine that is secreted by cells infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and it is widely recognized as a negative prognostic factor. The purpose of this study was to analyze the correlations between the olfactory scores determined by psychophysical tests and the serum levels of IL-6 in patients affected by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) Methods: Patients underwent psychophysical olfactory assessment with Connecticut Chemosensory Clinical Research Center test and IL-6 plasma level determination within 10 days of the clinical onset of COVID-19. Results: Seventy-four COVID-19 patients were included in this study. COVID-19 staged as mild in 34 patients, moderate in 26 and severe in 14 cases. There were no significant differences in olfactory scores across the different COVID-19 severity groups. In the patient series, the median plasma level of IL-6 was 7.7 pg/mL (IQR 3.7–18.8). The concentration of IL-6 was found to be significantly correlated with the severity of COVID-19 with a directly proportional relationship. The correlation between IL-6 plasma concentrations and olfactory scores was weak (rs = 0.182) and not significant (p = 0.12). Conclusions: In COVID-19 patients, psychophysical olfactory scores did not show significant correlations with the plasma levels of a well-recognized negative prognostic factor such as IL-6. This observation casts some shadows on the positive prognostic value of olfactory dysfunctions.

AB - Background: Interleukin 6 (IL-6) is a proinflammatory cytokine that is secreted by cells infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and it is widely recognized as a negative prognostic factor. The purpose of this study was to analyze the correlations between the olfactory scores determined by psychophysical tests and the serum levels of IL-6 in patients affected by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) Methods: Patients underwent psychophysical olfactory assessment with Connecticut Chemosensory Clinical Research Center test and IL-6 plasma level determination within 10 days of the clinical onset of COVID-19. Results: Seventy-four COVID-19 patients were included in this study. COVID-19 staged as mild in 34 patients, moderate in 26 and severe in 14 cases. There were no significant differences in olfactory scores across the different COVID-19 severity groups. In the patient series, the median plasma level of IL-6 was 7.7 pg/mL (IQR 3.7–18.8). The concentration of IL-6 was found to be significantly correlated with the severity of COVID-19 with a directly proportional relationship. The correlation between IL-6 plasma concentrations and olfactory scores was weak (rs = 0.182) and not significant (p = 0.12). Conclusions: In COVID-19 patients, psychophysical olfactory scores did not show significant correlations with the plasma levels of a well-recognized negative prognostic factor such as IL-6. This observation casts some shadows on the positive prognostic value of olfactory dysfunctions.

KW - Anosmia

KW - Coronavirus

KW - COVID-19

KW - Cytokine

KW - Cytokine storm

KW - IL-6

KW - Interleukin 6

KW - SARS-CoV-2

KW - Smell

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85105951512&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1007/s00405-021-06868-5

DO - 10.1007/s00405-021-06868-5

M3 - Article

C2 - 33983525

AN - SCOPUS:85105951512

SN - 0937-4477

JO - European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology

JF - European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology

ER -

Correlations between IL-6 serum level and olfactory dysfunction severity in COVID-19 patients: a preliminary study

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