| Id |
Subject |
Object |
Predicate |
Lexical cue |
| T3 |
0-10 |
Sentence |
denotes |
Background |
| T4 |
11-66 |
Sentence |
denotes |
Evidence links COVID-19 severity to hyper-inflammation. |
| T5 |
67-244 |
Sentence |
denotes |
Treatment with tocilizumab, a monoclonal antibody directed against the interleukin-6 (IL-6) receptor, was shown to lead to clinical improvement in patients with severe COVID-19. |
| T6 |
245-454 |
Sentence |
denotes |
We, therefore, performed the present systematic review and meta-analysis to investigate whether the circulating levels of IL-6 is a reliable indicator of disease severity among patients affected with COVID-19. |
| T7 |
456-463 |
Sentence |
denotes |
Methods |
| T8 |
464-570 |
Sentence |
denotes |
A systematic search was conducted in PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar on April 19, 2020. |
| T9 |
572-579 |
Sentence |
denotes |
Results |
| T10 |
580-735 |
Sentence |
denotes |
Eleven studies provided data of IL-6 levels in patients with severe to critical COVID-19 (severe) and patients with mild to moderate COVID-19 (non-severe). |
| T11 |
736-790 |
Sentence |
denotes |
The included studies were of moderate to high quality. |
| T12 |
791-952 |
Sentence |
denotes |
The mean patients’ age was 60.9 years, ranging from 45.2 to 76.7 years in the severe group and 46.8 years, ranging from 37.9 to 61 years, in the nonsevere group. |
| T13 |
953-1045 |
Sentence |
denotes |
Fifty-two percent were male in the severe group, as compared to 46% in the non-severe group. |
| T14 |
1046-1230 |
Sentence |
denotes |
An overall random effects meta-analysis showed significantly higher serum levels of IL-6 in the severe group than in the non-severe group with a mean difference of +23.1 pg/mL (95% CI: |
| T15 |
1231-1293 |
Sentence |
denotes |
12.42–33.79) and the overall effect of 4.24 (P-value < 0.001). |
| T16 |
1294-1415 |
Sentence |
denotes |
Meta-regressions showed that neither age nor sex significantly influenced the mean difference of IL-6 between the groups. |
| T17 |
1417-1428 |
Sentence |
denotes |
Conclusions |
| T18 |
1429-1557 |
Sentence |
denotes |
Meta-analysis and meta-regression reveal a reliable relationship between IL-6 and COVID-19 severity, independent of age and sex. |
| T19 |
1558-1684 |
Sentence |
denotes |
Future research is, however, required to assess the effect of BMI on the pattern of IL-6 production in patients with COVID-19. |
| T20 |
1685-1819 |
Sentence |
denotes |
Also, there might be confounding factors that influence the relationship between IL-6 and COVID-19 severity and remain as yet unknown. |
