Interleukin-28 as a Promising Marker for Predicting Invasive Mechanical Ventilation Requirement and Mortality in COVID-19 Patients

OBJECTIVE: The study aimed to evaluate serum interleukin-28 levels in COVID-19 patients and correlate the results with disease severity. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This study included 90 patients who presented to the COVID-19 outpatient clinics, hospital wards, and intensive care units. Serum interleukin-28, C-reactive protein, lactate dehydrogenase, fibrinogen, d-dimer, and ferritin levels were measured. Patients were divided into 3 groups based on clinical severity to mild, moderate, and severe groups (each group consisted of 30 patients). RESULTS: There were significant differences in serum C-reactive protein, lactate dehydrogenase, fibrinogen, d-dimer, ferritin, and interleukin-28 levels between all groups. The mean serum interleukin-28 levels of all patients were 383.74 ± 63.58 ng/L. The mean serum interleukin-28 levels were 335.52 ± 42.12 ng/L in the mild group, 366.88 ± 41.27 ng/L in the moderate group, and 453.46 ± 36.78 ng/L in the severe group. CONCLUSION: There were significant differences in comparisons of all pairs (P < .05). Interleukin-28 may be a promising biomarker for detecting disease severity in COVID-19 patients.