Plasma metabolomics profiling identifies new predictive biomarkers for disease severity in COVID-19 patients

PLoS One. 2023 Aug 10;18(8):e0289738. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0289738. eCollection 2023.

Abstract

Recently, numerous studies have reported on different predictive models of disease severity in COVID-19 patients. Herein, we propose a highly predictive model of disease severity by integrating routine laboratory findings and plasma metabolites including cytosine as a potential biomarker of COVID-19 disease severity. One model was developed and internally validated on the basis of ROC-AUC values. The predictive accuracy of the model was 0.996 (95% CI: 0.989 to 1.000) with an optimal cut-off risk score of 3 from among 6 biomarkers including five lab findings (D-dimer, ferritin, neutrophil counts, Hp, and sTfR) and one metabolite (cytosine). The model is of high predictive power, needs a small number of variables that can be acquired at minimal cost and effort, and can be applied independent of non-empirical clinical data. The metabolomics profiling data and the modeling work stemming from it, as presented here, could further explain the cause of COVID-19 disease prognosis and patient management.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Biomarkers
  • COVID-19* / diagnosis
  • Humans
  • Metabolomics
  • Patient Acuity
  • Prognosis
  • Retrospective Studies

Substances

  • Biomarkers

Grants and funding

This work was supported by research grant CoV19-0305 (MH), seed grant 2001110138, University of Sharjah, UAE. This research is part of the -Human Disease Biomarkers Discovery Research Group-study. The authors wish to acknowledge the generous support of the Research Institute for Medical and Health Sciences, University of Sharjah UAE. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.