ArticleJournal of anesthesia, analgesia and critical care2022
Krebs von den Lungen 6 (KL-6) levels in COVID-19 ICU patients are associated with mortality.
Article in Journal of anesthesia, analgesia and critical care, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed.
- KL-6 assisted subtyping of ARDS: from subtype-specific metabolomics to LPCAT1 as a pathogenic target.Respiratory research · 2026Article
- Initial and peak serum levels of Krebs von den Lungen-6 for predicting the prognosis of patients with COVID-19.The Korean journal of internal medicine · 2025Article
- Serum Krebs von den Lungen-6 for Predicting the Severity of COVID-19: A Systematic Review, Meta-Analysis, and Trial Sequence Analysis.Clinical medicine insights. Circulatory, respiratory and pulmonary medicine · 2023Article
- Exploring the Role of Krebs von den Lungen-6 in Severe to Critical COVID-19 Patients.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
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11 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundKrebs von den Lungen 6 (KL-6) is a high-molecular-weight mucin-like glycoprotein, which is also known as MUC1. KL-6 is mainly produced by type 2 pneumocytes and bronchial epithelial cells, and, therefore, elevated circulating KL-6 levels may denote disorders of the alveolar epithelial lining. The objective of this study is to verify if KL-6 serum level might support ICU physicians in predicting mortality, risk stratifying and triaging severe COVID-19 patients.
methodsA retrospective cohort study, including all the COVID-19 patients who measured KL-6 serum values at least once during their ICU stay, was performed. The study sample, 122 patients, was divided in two groups, according to the median KL-6 value at ICU admission (median log-transformed KL-6 value: 6.73 U/ml; group A: KL-6 lower than the median and group B: KL-6 higher than the median).
resultsOne-hundred twenty-two ICU patients were included in this study. Mortality was higher in group B than in group A (80 versus 46%; p < 0.001); both linear and logistic multivariate analyses showed ratio of arterial partial pressure of oxygen to fraction of inspired oxygen (P/F) significantly and inversely related to KL-6 values.
conclusionAt ICU admission, KL-6 serum level was significantly higher in the most hypoxic COVID-19 patients and independently associated with ICU mortality.
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