A novel scale based on biomarkers associated with COVID-19 severity can predict the need for hospitalization and intensive care, as well as enhanced probabilities for mortality

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 13; no. 1; pp. 9064 - 9
• Main Authors: Nieto-Ortega, Eduardo, Maldonado-del-Arenal, Alejandro, Escudero-Roque, Lupita, Macedo-Falcon, Diana Ali, Escorcia-Saucedo, Ana Elena, León-del-Ángel, Adalberto, Durán-Méndez, Alejandro, Rueda-Medécigo, María José, García-Callejas, Karla, Hernández-Islas, Sergio, Romero-López, Gabriel, Hernández-Romero, Ángel Raúl, Pérez-Ortega, Daniela, Rodríguez-Segura, Estephany, Montaño‑Olmos, Daniela, Hernández-Muñoz, Jeffrey, Rodríguez-Peña, Samuel, Magos, Montserrat, Aco-Cuamani, Yanira Lizeth, García-Chávez, Nazareth, García-Otero, Ana Lizeth, Mejía-Rangel, Analiz, Gutiérrez-Losada, Valeria, Cova-Bonilla, Miguel, Aguilar-Arroyo, Alma Delia, Sandoval-García, Araceli, Martínez-Francisco, Eneyda, Vázquez-García, Blanca Azucena, Jardínez-Vera, Aldo Christiaan, del Campo, Alejandro Lechuga-Martín, Peón, Alberto N.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 04.06.2023; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 692/308; 692/499; 692/700; Biomarkers; COVID-19; COVID-19 - diagnosis; Critical Care; Disease transmission; Hospitalization; Humanities and Social Sciences; Humans; Intensive Care Units; Mathematical functions; Mortality; multidisciplinary; Pandemics; Probability; Retrospective Studies; SARS-CoV-2; Science; Science (multidisciplinary)
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-30913-4

Prognostic scales may help to optimize the use of hospital resources, which may be of prime interest in the context of a fast spreading pandemics. Nonetheless, such tools are underdeveloped in the context of COVID-19. In the present article we asked whether accurate prognostic scales could be developed to optimize the use of hospital resources. We retrospectively studied 467 files of hospitalized patients after COVID-19. The odds ratios for 16 different biomarkers were calculated, those that were significantly associated were screened by a Pearson’s correlation, and such index was used to establish the mathematical function for each marker. The scales to predict the need for hospitalization, intensive-care requirement and mortality had enhanced sensitivities (0.91 CI 0.87–0.94; 0.96 CI 0.94–0.98; 0.96 CI 0.94–0.98; all with p  < 0.0001) and specificities (0.74 CI 0.62–0.83; 0.92 CI 0.87–0.96 and 0.91 CI 0.86–0.94; all with p  < 0.0001). Interestingly, when a different population was assayed, these parameters did not change considerably. These results show a novel approach to establish the mathematical function of a marker in the development of highly sensitive prognostic tools, which in this case, may aid in the optimization of hospital resources. An online version of the three algorithms can be found at: http://benepachuca.no-ip.org/covid/index.php