Serum Neurofilament Light Chain Levels in the Intensive Care Unit: Comparison between Severely Ill Patients with and without Coronavirus Disease 2019
Date Issued
2021-01-01
Author(s)
Twerenbold, Raphael
Jost, Jasmine
Maceski, Aleksandra Maleska
Kuhle, Jens
DOI
10.1002/ana.26004
Abstract
There is emerging evidence for multifarious neurological manifestations of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), but little is known regarding whether they reflect structural damage to the nervous system. Serum neurofilament light chain (sNfL) is a specific biomarker of neuronal injury. We measured sNfL concentrations of 29 critically ill COVID-19 patients, 10 critically ill non-COVID-19 patients, and 259 healthy controls. After adjusting for neurological comorbidities and age, sNfL concentrations were higher in patients with COVID-19 versus both comparator groups. Higher sNfL levels were associated with unfavorable short-term outcome, indicating that neuronal injury is common and pronounced in critically ill patients.