YKL-40 Serum Level in COVID-19 Patients Having Skin Manifestations

Objectives : To measure the level of YKL-40 in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients with and without skin lesions in El-Bagour Hospital. Background : The outbreak of COVID-19, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, has emerged in China in December 2019 and rapidly spread to more than 196 countries worldwide. Patients and methods : A case e control study was conducted on a total of 180 patients including 60 COVID-19 patients with skin manifestations and 60 COVID-19 patients without skin manifestations besides 60 age-matched and sex-matched healthy individuals as a control group. The patients were those attending El-Bagour Hospital COVID-19 isolation from March 2020 to March 2021. Diagnosis of COVID-19 was done clinically and by laboratory investigations, con fi rmed by PCR. Results : The mean levels of YKL-40 were signi fi cantly higher in COVID-19 patients than in controls (66.47 ± 66.52 vs. 17.25 ± 3.16 ng/ml). The mean levels of YKL-40 were signi fi cantly higher in COVID-19 patients with cutaneous manifestations than those without cutaneous manifestations (94.85 ± 84.50 vs. 38.09 ± 12.12 ng/ml). Conclusion : The mean level of YKL-40 was signi fi cantly higher in COVID-19 patients, especially severe cases than the controls and in COVID-19 patients with cutaneous manifestations than those without cutaneous manifestations.