SynthesisReviews in medical virology2020
Interleukin-6 in Covid-19: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Reviews in medical virology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 514 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
514 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 806 citations in OpenAlex.
- Association of interleukin-6, ferritin, and lactate dehydrogenase with venous thromboembolism in COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC infectious diseases · 2024Pooled it
- Is antiviral treatment at the acute phase of COVID-19 effective for decreasing the risk of long-COVID? A systematic review.Infection · 2024Pooled it
- Safety and efficacy of mesenchymal stem cells in COVID-19 patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Immunity, inflammation and disease · 2023Pooled it
- Efficacy and safety of human umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells for COVID-19 pneumonia: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Stem cell research & therapy · 2023Pooled it
- Increased interleukin-6 is associated with long COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Infectious diseases of poverty · 2023Pooled it
- Influence of Vitamin A supplementation on inflammatory biomarkers in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials.Scientific reports · 2022Pooled it
- Pathophysiology of COVID-19: A Post Hoc Analysis of the ICAT-COVID Clinical Trial of the Bradykinin Antagonist Icatibant.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Trial
- Effect of IL-6R blockade on plasma lipids and clinical outcomes among hospitalized patients with COVID-19 infection.Journal of lipid research · 2024Trial
- Randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial of allogeneic cord blood T-regulatory cells for treatment of COVID-19 ARDS.Blood advances · 2023Trial
- Allogenic mesenchymal stromal cells and their extracellular vesicles in COVID-19 induced ARDS: a randomized controlled trial.Stem cell research & therapy · 2023Trial
- Article
- Article
- GDA-Pred: Generative AI-Driven Data Augmentation for Improved Prediction of IL-6 and IL-13-Inducing Peptides.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
- The Association Between Peak IL-6 Levels, In-Hospital Mortality, and Selected Risk Factors in Patients Hospitalized for COVID-19 at the Temporary Hospital in Gdansk-A Retrospective Cohort Study.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- New Simplified White Blood Cells Score Improves Mortality Prediction in Severe COVID-19 Patients.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Discovery of synthetic G-quadruplex DNA as SARS-CoV-2 helicase inhibitor with antiviral, anti-inflammatory and antioxidative properties.Cell death discovery · 2026Article
- Comparative Study on the Effect of Vitamin D Deficiency on Platelet Indices in COVID-19 and Hepatitis C Patients; an Observational Comparative Study.Health science reports · 2026Article
- Muscle Dysfunction and Physical Recovery After Critical Illness.Journal of intensive care medicine · 2026Review
- Myocardial and Vascular Involvement in COVID-19 and Post-Vaccination States: Understanding Injury Pathways and Clinical Implications.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- 1-Year Clinical Outcome Post-Myasthenic Crisis: A Multicenter Prospective Study in China.European journal of neurology · 2026Article
454 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Coronaviruses may activate dysregulated host immune responses. As exploratory studies have suggested that interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels are elevated in cases of complicated Covid-19, we undertook a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the evidence in this field. We systematically searched MEDLINE and EMBASE for studies investigating the immunological response in Covid-19; additional grey literature searches were undertaken. Study selection and data abstraction was undertaken independently by two authors. Meta-analysis was undertaken using random effects models to compute ratios of means with 95% confidence intervals (95%CIs). Eight published studies and two preprints (n = 1798) were eligible for inclusion. Meta-analysis of mean IL-6 concentrations demonstrated 2.9-fold higher levels in patients with complicated Covid-19 compared with patients with noncomplicated disease (six studies; n = 1302; 95%CI, 1.17-7.19; I
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Registered trials
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.