Characteristics of lymphocyte subsets and cytokine profiles of patients with COVID-19

Abnormalities of lymphocyte subsets and cytokine profiles have been observed in most patients with coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Here, we explore the role of lymphocyte subsets and cytokines on hospital admission in predicting the severity of COVID-19. This study included 214 patients with COVID-19 who were treated at Chongqing University Three Gorges Hospital from January 19, 2020 to April 30, 2020. Any mutants were not detected in the studied patients. Patients were divided into non-intensive care unit (ICU) (mild/moderate) group and ICU (severe/critical) group, according to the severity of the disease. Clinical and laboratory data, including peripheral lymphocyte subsets and cytokines, were analyzed and compared. Logistic regression was used to analyze the predictive factors for ICU admission. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were drawn to evaluate the predictive value of selected indicators for the severity of COVID-19. Of the 214 patients enrolled, 161 were non-ICU patients and 53 were ICU patients. Lymphopenia was observed in nearly all of ICU patients (96.2%) and 84.5% of non-ICU patients on hospital admission. The absolute number of lymphocytes, CD3 T cells, CD4 T cells, CD8 T cells, CD19 B cells, and natural killer (NK) cells were lower in ICU group (659.00 × 10 /L, 417.00 × 10 /L, 261.00 × 10 /L, 140.00 × 10 /L, 109.00 × 10 /L, 102.00 × 10 /L, respectively) than in non-ICU group (1063.00 × 10 /L, 717.00 × 10 /L, 432.00 × 10 /L, 271.00 × 10 /L, 133.00 × 10 /L, 143.00 × 10 /L, respectively). Interleukin (IL)-6 was significantly higher in ICU patients than in non-ICU patients (18.08 pg/mL vs. 3.13 pg/mL, P