Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32661499›Full record

ArticleOpen forum infectious diseases2020

Serum Iron Level as a Potential Predictor of Coronavirus Disease 2019 Severity and Mortality: A Retrospective Study.

Kang Zhao, Jucun Huang, Dan Dai, Yuwei Feng, Liming Liu, Shuke Nie

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Open forum infectious diseases, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 89 papers, 8 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
89citing papers in PubMed, 8 pooled it
14.1field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

89 citing papers in PubMed, 8 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 143 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  7. Serum amyloid A concentrations, COVID-19 severity and mortality: An updated systematic review and meta-analysis.International journal of infectious diseases : IJID : official publication of the International Society for Infectious Diseases · 2021
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  9. Article
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  15. Association of Markers of iron Metabolism with Mucormycosis: A Case Control Study.Indian journal of otolaryngology and head and neck surgery : official publication of the Association of Otolaryngologists of India · 2025
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29 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Kang ZhaoDepartment of Hepatology, Hubei No. 3 People's Hospital of Jianghan University, Wuhan, China.
Jucun HuangDepartment of Hepatology, Hubei No. 3 People's Hospital of Jianghan University, Wuhan, China.
Dan DaiDepartment of Hepatology, Hubei No. 3 People's Hospital of Jianghan University, Wuhan, China.
Yuwei FengDepartment of Hepatology, Hubei No. 3 People's Hospital of Jianghan University, Wuhan, China.
Liming LiuDepartment of Hepatology, Hubei No. 3 People's Hospital of Jianghan University, Wuhan, China.
Shuke NieDepartment of Neurology, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China.ORCID 0000-0003-3776-2749
Jianghan University · CNWuhan University · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundVarious types of pulmonary diseases are associated with iron deficiency. However, information on iron status in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is scarce.

methodsThis study included 50 hospitalized patients with confirmed COVID-19. The role of serum iron in predicting severity and mortality of COVID-19 was evaluated.

resultsThe most common symptoms of COVID-19 patients in this study were cough (82%), fever (64%), and chest distress (42%). Of the 50 patients, 45 (90%) patients had abnormally low serum iron levels (<7.8 μmol/L). The severity of COVID-19 was negatively correlated with serum iron levels before and after treatment and was positively correlated with C-reactive protein, serum amyloid A, D-dimer, lactate dehydrogenase, urea nitrogen, and myoglobin levels. Decreased serum iron level could predict the transition of COVID-19 from mild to severe and critical illness. Seven (53.8%) patients with a lower serum iron level after treatment in the critical group had died. There was a significant difference in posttreatment serum iron levels between COVID-19 survivors and nonsurvivors.

conclusionsSerum iron deficiency was detected in the patients with COVID-19. The severity and mortality of the disease was closely correlated with serum iron levels. Low serum iron concentration was an independent risk factor for death in COVID-19 patients.

Indexed as

coronavirus disease 2019mortalitypredictionserum ironseverity

Identifiers

PMID32661499
PMCPMC7337740
OpenAlexW3036601227

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.