The Relationship between COVID-19 Severity and Plasma Levels of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF)

Background This study aimed to assess the relationship between COVID-19 severity and the plasma levels of vascular endothelial growth factor. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted on 86 patients with COVID-19. A 5 ml venous blood sample was taken on the first day of hospitalization. VEGF was measured with the ELISA method using the Hangzhou East biopharm VEGF ELIZA Kit. Results The mean age of patients was 56 +/- 15 years. The mean plasma level of VEGF was 2877.07 +/- 104.77 ng/ml. There was no significant relationship between VEGF levels and COVID-19 severity (P = 0.55). The percentage of pulmonary infiltration > 50 in the severe group (72.7%) was higher than that of the non-severe group (2.4%) (P = 0.001). There was a significant relationship between COVID-19 severity and the levels of LDH, neutrophil/lymph ratio, and CRP. Regarding medications, remdesivir was used more in the severe group (70.5%) than in the non-severe group (45.2%) (P = 0.018). Conclusion Although plasma VEGF levels were higher in the severe group than in the non-severe group, no significant relationship was found between the plasma level of VEGF and COVID-19 severity, which might be due to the small sample size. VEGF may be a valuable scientific marker, but in this study, it was not as useful as other markers in identifying COVID-19 severity. In addition, there was a direct and significant relationship between COVID-19 severity and the inflammatory markers LDH, neutrophil/lymph, and CRP. Therefore, measurement of inflammatory markers can assist in the early identification and prediction of severity and disease progression in COVID-19.