Admission levels of Soluble Urokinase Plasminogen Activator Receptor (suPAR) are Associated with the Development of Severe Complications in Hospitalised COVID-19 Patients: A Prospective Cohort Study

Abderrahim Oulhaj, Ahmed R. Alsuwaidi, Abubaker Suliman, Huda Gasmelseed, Shaima Khan, Shamma Alawi, Yaman Hukan, Junu George, Fayez Alshamsi, Farrukh Sheikh, Zahir Osman Eltahir Babiker, Juergen Prattes, Harald Sourij

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

17 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Objective: To examine the association between plasma levels of the soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR) and the incidence of severe complications of COVID-19. Methods: 403 RT-PCR-confirmed COVID-19 patients were recruited and prospectively followed-up at a major hospital in the United Arab Emirates. The primary endpoint was time from admission until the development of a composite outcome, including acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), intensive care unit (ICU) admission, or death from any cause. Patients discharged alive were considered as competing events to the primary outcome. Competing risk regression was used to quantify the association between suPAR and the incidence of the primary outcome. Results: 6.2% of patients experienced ARDS or ICU admission, but none died. Taking into account competing risk, the incidence of the primary outcome was 11.5% (95% confidence interval [CI], 6.7–16.3) in patients with suPAR levels >3.91 ng/mL compared to 2.9% (95% CI, 0.4–5.5) in those with suPAR ≤3.91 ng/mL. Also, an increase by 1 ng/mL in baseline suPAR resulted in a 58% rise in the hazard of developing the primary outcome (hazard ratio 1.6, 95% CI, 1.2–2.1, p = 0.003). Conclusion: suPAR has an excellent prognostic utility in predicting severe complications in hospitalised COVID-19 patients.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)188-194
Number of pages7
JournalInternational Journal of Infectious Diseases
Volume107
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jun 2021

Keywords

  • Acute respiratory distress syndrome
  • All-cause mortality
  • COVID-19
  • Intensive care admission
  • Urokinase plasminogen activator

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Microbiology (medical)
  • Infectious Diseases

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