The Relationship between COVID-19 Severity and Plasma Levels of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF)

Background: This study aimed to assess the relationship between COVID-19 severity and the plasma levels of vascular endothelial growth factor. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 86 patients with COVID-19. A 5 ml venous blood sample was taken on the first day of hospitalization. VEGF was measured with the ELISA method using the Hangzhou East biopharm VEGF ELIZA Kit. Results: The mean age of patients was 56 ± 15 years. The mean plasma level of VEGF was 2877.07 ± 104.77 ng/ml. There was no significant relationship between VEGF levels and COVID-19 severity (P = 0.55). The percentage of pulmonary infiltration > 50 in the severe group (72.7%) was higher than that of the non-severe group (2.4%) (P = 0.001). There was a significant relationship between COVID-19 severity and the levels of LDH, neutrophil/lymph ratio, and CRP. Regarding medications, remdesivir was used more in the severe group (70.5%) than in the non-severe group (45.2%) (P = 0.018). Conclusion: Although plasma VEGF levels were higher in the severe group than in the non-severe group, no significant relationship was found between the plasma level of VEGF and COVID-19 severity, which might be due to the small sample size. VEGF may be a valuable scientific marker, but in this study, it was not as useful as other markers in identifying COVID-19 severity. In addition, there was a direct and significant relationship between COVID-19 severity and the inflammatory markers LDH, neutrophil/lymph, and CRP. Therefore, measurement of inflammatory markers can assist in the early identification and prediction of severity and disease progression in COVID-19.