The role of serum SST2 levels in determining disease severity in Covid-19 pneumonia

INTRODUCTİON AND AİM: In this study, it was aimed to investigate the effectiveness of serum sST2 level in predicting clinical severity, need for intubation and three-month mortality in COVID-19 patients. METHODS: This prospective controlled study was conducted between 01.10.2021-30.04.2022 in Sakarya Training and Research Hospital Emergency Department as a single center. The control group consisting of healthy volunteers and COVID-19 patients were included in the study. Patients' age, gender, disease history, clinical spectrum (mild, moderate, severe, critical), PSI scores, sST2 levels, emergency room outcomes, need for intubation, and three-month mortality data were recorded. RESULTS: A total of 132 COVID-19 patients and 37 healty volunteers were included in the study. The sST2 level of COVID-19 patients was 162.0 ng/ml and the control group was 3,60 ng/ml (p<0,001). According to clinical spectrum, the sST2 levels of the patients were 2,60 ng/ml in the mild group, 119 ng/ml in the moderate group, 237 ng/ml in the severe group, and in the critical group it was 326 ng/ml (p<0,001). When the sST2 cut-off value was defined as 157 ng/ml, the sensitivity was 74,2% and the specificity was 72,7% in the differentiation of mild-moderate clinical and severe-critical clinical. The sST2 level was 280 ng/ml in intubated patients, and 61,10 ng/ml in non-intubated patients (p<0.001). When the sST2 cut-off value was defined as 193,50 ng/ml, the sensitivity was 83,7% and the specificity was 71,9% in the differentiation of these patient groups. The sST2 level was 272,50 ng/ml in the three-month mortality group, while it was 55,90 ng/ml in the other group (p<0.001). When the sST2 cut-off value was defined as 193,50 ng/ml, the sensitivity was 81,8% and the specificity was 71,6% in the differentiation of these patient groups. CONCLUSİON: sST2 is a valuable biomarker for the prediction of COVID-19 clinical severity, need for intubation and mortality.