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The COVID-19 Cytokine Storm; What We Know So Far

2020; Frontiers Media; Volume: 11; Linguagem: Inglês

10.3389/fimmu.2020.01446

1664-3224

Dina Ragab, Haitham Salah Eldin, Mohamed Taeimah, Rasha Khattab, Ramy Salem,

COVID-19 and healthcare impacts

COVID-19 is a rapidly spreading global threat that has been declared as a pandemic by the WHO. COVID-19 is transmitted via droplets or direct contact and infects the respiratory tract resulting in pneumonia in most of the cases and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in about 15 % of the cases. Mortality in COVID-19 patients has been linked to the presence of the so-called "cytokine storm" induced by the virus. Excessive production of proinflammatory cytokines leads to ARDS aggravation and widespread tissue damage resulting in multi-organ failure and death. Targeting cytokines during the management of COVID-19 patients could improve survival rates and reduce mortality.