The association between Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha level (TNF-α) and moderate COVID-19 patients in Egypt

Background: Infection with viral agents causes upregulation of cytokines such as Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha (TNF-α), which is considered an important mediator of inflammation. TNF-α has been associated with a poor prognosis in patients with the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). Patients and methods: This study included 66 mild COVID-19 patients with confirmed COVID-19 infection and 22 healthy people as a control group, these study subjects were randomly selected irrespective of the age group and both genders were included, 1 ml blood sample was collected for performing serum TNF-α levels test, Reagents of EIAab is located at East Lake Hi-Tech Development Zone, Wuhan China.  Human tumor necrosis factor ELISA kit TNF-α serum levels immunoassay test catalog number E0133h. Results: This study reveals that serum TNF-α levels for mild COVID-19 patients and healthy control people were non-significant with a p-value of 0.1191 between the two groups. Conclusion: the serum TNF-α level is not a significant biomarker for diagnosis or prognosis of mild COVID-19 patients (Outpatients and patients under home observation), while other studies reported patients with COVID-19 demonstrated significantly elevated levels of TNF- 𝛼 upon admission to hospitals.