Soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor levels are predictive of COVID-19 severity in Afro-Caribbean patients.

Plain language summary Our aim was to investigate association between the plasma levels of soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR) at admission and incidence of complications in COVID-19 patients. Increased suPAR level has been previously associated with activation of inflammation and coagulation, which important features of COVID-19. We considered Afro-Caribbean patients admitted to the hospital between 1 February 2020 and 28 February 2021. Primary outcome was time from the hospital admission until intensive care unit care or death. The use of an integrative prediction tool which combines simple clinical score (NEWS2), imaging technique (chest CT severity score) and suPAR plasma levels has potent predictive value for COVID-19 outcome.