The findings, which were recently published in the journal The Lancet, indicate that very high levels of cortisol could help predict which patients are at higher risk of death. The study examined the blood tests of 535 hospital patients in London, including 403 who were confirmed to have contracted COVID-19. Researchers found that the patients who tested positive for coronavirus yielded up to three times the amount of cortisol in their system than even patients recovering from major surgery—another instance when stress levels typically skyrocket.ae0fcc31ae342fd3a1346ebb1f342fcb Those patients whose cortisol levels were highest—744 nmol/L–survived for an average of 15 more days, while those under that level survived for 36 days on average. Researchers now say that conducting a simple test of hormone levels in the blood could be a lifesaving tactic to help assign some patients the urgent medical care they require. RELATED: For more up-to-date information, sign up for our daily newsletter. “Now, when people arrive at [the] hospital, we potentially have another simple marker to use alongside oxygen saturation levels to help us identify which patients need to be admitted immediately, and which may not,” the study’s lead author Waljit Dhillo, PhD, of from Imperial College London, said in a statement. “Having an early indicator of which patients may deteriorate more quickly will help us with providing the best level of care as quickly as possible.” And for more on COVID-19 research, check out Your Immunity to Coronavirus Might Only Last This Long, Study Says.
