Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33616462›Full record

ArticleInternational reviews of immunology2022

Cytokine release syndrome in COVID-19: a major mechanism of morbidity and mortality.

Yifan Que, Chao Hu, Kun Wan, Peng Hu, Runsheng Wang, Jiang Luo, Tianzhi Li, Rongyu Ping, Qinyong Hu, Yu Sun and 5 more

Open access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in International reviews of immunology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 103 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
103citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
9.0field-weighted citation impact, top 2% 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

103 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 163 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  9. Article
  10. Review
  11. MIS-C: Diagnosis, Management, and Outcomes.Open forum infectious diseases · 2026
    Review
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Follow-up of patients with mild COVID-19 using subjective, acoustic, and aerodynamic measurements.World journal of otorhinolaryngology - head and neck surgery · 2025
    Article
  16. Article
  17. Mucosal implications of oral Jak3-targeted drugs in COVID patients.Molecular medicine (Cambridge, Mass.) · 2025
    Review
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. Article

43 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

15 authors at 6 institutions in 2 countries.

Yifan QueDepartment of Respiratory Medicine, The Second Medical Center & National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Diseases, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Medical School of Chinese PLA, Beijing, China.
Chao HuThe Second Medical Center & National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Diseases, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Medical School of Chinese PLA, Beijing, China.
Kun WanMedical Supplies Center, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Medical School of Chinese PLA, Beijing, China.
Peng HuDepartment of Respiratory Medicine, The Second Medical Center & National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Diseases, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Medical School of Chinese PLA, Beijing, China.
Runsheng WangDepartment of Respiratory Medicine, The Second Medical Center & National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Diseases, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Medical School of Chinese PLA, Beijing, China.
Jiang LuoThe Second Medical Center & National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Diseases, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Medical School of Chinese PLA, Beijing, China.
Tianzhi LiThe Second Medical Center & National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Diseases, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Medical School of Chinese PLA, Beijing, China.
Rongyu PingDepartment of Neurology, The Second Medical Center & National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Diseases, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Medical School of Chinese PLA, Beijing, China.
Qinyong HuCancer Center, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China.
Yu SunDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.ORCID 0000-0002-1771-3715
Xudong WuDepartment of Cell Biology, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China.
Lei TuDivision of Gastroenterology, Wuhan Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science & Technology, Wuhan, China.
Yingzhen DuDepartment of Respiratory Medicine, The Second Medical Center & National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Diseases, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Medical School of Chinese PLA, Beijing, China.
Christopher ChangDivision of Pediatric Immunology, Allergy and Rheumatology, Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital, Hollywood, Florida, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-4397-5217
Guogang XuThe Second Medical Center & National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Diseases, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Medical School of Chinese PLA, Beijing, China.
Chinese PLA General Hospital · CNJoe DiMaggio Children's Hospital · USTianjin Medical University · CNUnion Hospital · CNWuhan Union Hospital · CNWuhan University · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) triggered by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) erupted in Hubei Province of China in December 2019 and has become a pandemic. Severe COVID-19 patients who suffer from acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and multi-organ dysfunction have high mortality. Several studies have shown that this is closely related to the cytokine release syndrome (CRS), often loosely referred to as cytokine storm. IL-6 is one of the key factors and its level is positively correlated with the severity of the disease. The molecular mechanisms for CRS in COVID-19 are related to the effects of the S-protein and N-protein of the virus and its ability to trigger NF-κB activation by disabling the inhibitory component IκB. This leads to activation of immune cells and the secretion of proinflammatory cytokines such as IL-6 and TNF-α. Other mechanisms related to IL-6 include its interaction with GM-CSF and interferon responses. The pivotal role of IL-6 makes it a target for therapeutic agents and studies on tocilizumab are already ongoing. Other possible targets of treating CRS in COVID-19 include IL-1β and TNF-α. Recently, reports of a CRS like illness called multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) in children have surfaced, with a variable presentation which in some cases resembles Kawasaki disease. It is likely that the immunological derangement and cytokine release occurring in COVID-19 cases is variable, or on a spectrum, that can potentially be governed by genetic factors. Currently, there are no approved biological modulators for the treatment of COVID-19, but the urgency of the pandemic has led to numerous clinical trials worldwide. Ultimately, there is great promise that an anti-inflammatory modulator targeting a cytokine storm effect may prove to be very beneficial in reducing morbidity and mortality in COVID-19 patients.

Indexed as

COVID-19Cytokine Release SyndromeHumansMorbiditySARS-CoV-2Systemic Inflammatory Response SyndromeCOVID-19cytokine release syndromehemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH)IL-6Kawasaki diseasemultisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C)NF-κBSARS-CoV-2

Identifiers

PMID33616462
PMCPMC7919105
OpenAlexW3132106350

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
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Registered trials

None linked

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.