Inflammatory markers for predicting severity, mortality, and need for intensive care treatments of a patient infected with covid-19: a scoping review

Abstract

Introduction: Numerous types of inflammatory markers are used by health workers to predict the patients infected with COVID-19 condition. However, fewer studies have identified the specific inflammatory markers to predict the severity, mortality, and need for intensive care treatments among patients infected with COVID-19. Thus, this scoping review aimed to evaluate and grouping the inflammatory markers related to severity, mortality, and need for intensive care treatments. Methods: Electronic databases were discovered for studies by elaborating specific proposed keywords related to types of inflammatory markers for predicting the severity, mortality, and need for intensive care treatments of patients infected with COVID-19. Authors independently comprised the literature search, evidence evaluation, and article extraction until the types of inflammatory markers for predicting the severity, mortality, and need for intensive care treatments of patients infected with COVID-19 are discovered. Results: 8 of 133 identified articles were included. These articles summarized that the mean of thrombocyte volume-to-platelet count ratio (MPV/PLT), the C-reactive protein/albumin ratio (CAR), prognostic nutritional index (PNI) and lymphocyte to C-reactive protein ratio (LCRP) were significant in predicting mortality. Lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (LMR) and Lymphocyte-to-CRP ratio (LCR) were inversely correlated with disease severity. The systemic-immune-inflammation index (SII) and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) findings were statistically significant in predicting disease severity and the need for intensive care treatments. Moreover, Elevated C-reactive protein (CRP), lymphocyte-to-CRP ratio (LCR), and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) were statistically significant in predicting the disease severity, need for intensive care treatment, and mortality. Conclusion: Each of the inflammatory markers has specificity in predicting the severity, mortality, and need for intensive care treatments among patients infected with COVID-19. These predictors can be used by health professionals, particularly nurses in providing the best clinical decisions and nursing care to COVID-19 patients.