Title:The Relationship between COVID-19 Severity and Plasma Levels of
Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF)
Volume: 20
Issue: 1
Author(s): Mitra Samareh Fekri, Elham Barfzade*, Ahmad Shafahi, Mehrdad Farokhnia, Fatemeh Karami Robati, Sajjadeh Movahedinia and Shariar Dabiri
Affiliation:
- Clinical Research Development Unit, Afzalipour Hospital‚ Kerman University of Medical Sciences‚
Kerman‚ Iran
Keywords:
Severity, COVID-19, Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF).
Abstract:
Background: This study aimed to assess the relationship between COVID-19 severity
and the plasma levels of vascular endothelial growth factor.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 86 patients with COVID-19. A 5 ml venous
blood sample was taken on the first day of hospitalization. VEGF was measured with the
ELISA method using the Hangzhou East biopharm VEGF ELIZA Kit.
Results: The mean age of patients was 56 ± 15 years. The mean plasma level of VEGF was
2877.07 ± 104.77 ng/ml. There was no significant relationship between VEGF levels and
COVID-19 severity (P = 0.55). The percentage of pulmonary infiltration > 50 in the severe group
(72.7%) was higher than that of the non-severe group (2.4%) (P = 0.001). There was a significant
relationship between COVID-19 severity and the levels of LDH, neutrophil/lymph ratio, and
CRP. Regarding medications, remdesivir was used more in the severe group (70.5%) than in the
non-severe group (45.2%) (P = 0.018).
Conclusion: Although plasma VEGF levels were higher in the severe group than in the non-severe
group, no significant relationship was found between the plasma level of VEGF and
COVID-19 severity, which might be due to the small sample size. VEGF may be a valuable scientific
marker, but in this study, it was not as useful as other markers in identifying COVID-19
severity. In addition, there was a direct and significant relationship between COVID-19 severity
and the inflammatory markers LDH, neutrophil/lymph, and CRP. Therefore, measurement of inflammatory
markers can assist in the early identification and prediction of severity and disease
progression in COVID-19.