July 2020
Marina Vogel-González, Marc Talló-Parra, Víctor Herrera-Fernández, Gemma Pérez-Vilaró, Miguel Chillón, Xavier Nogués, Silvia Gómez-Zorrilla, Inmaculada López-Montesinos, Judit Villar, Maria Luisa Sorli-Redó, Juan Pablo Horcajada, Natalia García-Giralt, Julio Pascual, Juana Díez, Rubén Vicente, View ORCID ProfileRobert Güerri-Fernández
Abstract
Background Biomarkers to predict Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) outcome early at infection are urgently needed to improve prognosis and treatment. Zinc balances immune responses and also has a proven direct antiviral action against some viruses. Importantly, zinc deficiency (ZD) is a common condition in elderly and individuals with chronic diseases, two groups with more severe COVID-19 outcomes. We hypothesize that serum zinc content (SZC) influences COVID-19 disease progression and thus might represent a useful biomarker.
Methods We run a retrospective observational study with 249 COVID-19 patients admitted in Hospital del Mar. We have studied COVID-19 severity and progression attending to SZC at admission. In parallel we have studied SARS-CoV2 replication in the Vero E6 cell line modifying zinc concentrations.
Findings Our study demonstrates a correlation between serum zinc levels and COVID-19 outcome. Serum zinc levels lower than 50 µg/dl at admission correlated with worse clinical presentation, longer time to reach stability and higher mortality. Our in vitro results indicate that low zinc levels favor viral expansion in SARS-CoV2 infected cells.
Interpretation SZC is a novel biomarker to predict COVID-19 outcome. We encourage performing randomized clinical trials to study zinc supplementation as potential prophylaxis and treatment with people at risk of zinc deficiency.
Keywords: SARS-CoV-2; clinical outcomes; zinc.
