Coronavirus

Intensive care medicine

ARDS

Cytokine storm

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)

Immunology

Cytokine

Inflammation

Infectious disease (medical specialty)

Internal medicine

Proinflammatory cytokine

Medicine

Pneumonia

Pandemic

Disease

Lung

Frontiers in Immunology

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.

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