Unique inflammatory profile is associated with higher SARS-CoV-2 acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) mortality

The COVID19 pandemic is likely to cause more than a million of deaths worldwide, primarily due to complications from COVID19-associated acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Controversy surrounds the circulating cytokine/chemokine profile of COVID19-associated ARDS, with some groups suggesting that it is similar to non-COVID19 ARDS patients and others observing substantial differences. Moreover, while a hyperinflammatory phenotype associates with higher mortality in non-COVID19 ARDS, there is little information on the inflammatory landscape’s association with mortality in COVID19 ARDS patients. Even though the circulating leukocytes’ transcriptomic signature has been associated with distinct phenotypes and outcomes in critical illness including ARDS, it is unclear whether the mortality-associated inflammatory mediators from COVID19 patients are transcriptionally regulated in the leukocyte compartment. Here, we conducted a prospective cohort study of 41 mechanically ventilated patients with COVID19 infection using highly calibrated methods to define the levels of plasma cytokines/chemokines and their gene expressions in circulating leukocytes. Plasma IL1RA and IL8 were found positively associated with mortality while RANTES and EGF negatively associated with that outcome. However, the leukocyte gene expression of these proteins had no statistically significant correlation with mortality. These data suggest a unique inflammatory signature associated with severe COVID19.