Correlation Between D-Dimer and Interleukin-6 (IL-6) Values in Survival of Covid-19

Abstract

Covid-19 survivors complain of persistent symptoms even though they have been declared cured. The main cause of these symptoms is increased cytokine activity, inflammation associated with Interleukin-6 (IL-6). The coagulation pathway is activated due to the immune response and thrombin activation also leads to procoagulant-anticoagulant imbalance, resulting various complications with increased D-dimer levels. D-Dimer and Interleukin-6 (IL-6) are clinical parameters often used as biomarkers to detect infection to determine whether Covid-19 survivors are experiencing health problems and are expected to provide more sensitive and accurate diagnosis results. The purpose of this study was to analyze the relationship between D-Dimer levels and Interleukin-6 (IL-6) in Covid-19 survivors. This is an analytic correlation study with a cross-sectional study design, using a retrospective approach from 102 historical data/medical records of Covid-19 survivors underwent D-Dimer and Interleukin-6 (IL-6) examinations at Laboratorium Klinik Pramita Surabaya from January 2022 until April 2023. This study analyzed by non-parametric Spearman test. The results showed there was a low positive correlation between D-Dimer and Interleukin-6 (IL-6) in groups 4-12 after recovering from Covid-19, p = 0.020 and r = 0.325. While in groups 12-24 after recovering from Covid -19 it was found there was no relationship between D-Dimer and Interleukin-6 (IL-6), p= 0.312 and r= 0.144. The conclusion of this study is D-Dimer and Interleukin-6 (IL-6) are biomarkers that are quite important for therapy and follow-up of Covid-19 survivors even though they have left the acute phase.