Coronavirus disease severity describes the range of clinical outcomes following infection, from asymptomatic or mild illness to severe respiratory failure, critical illness and death. Severity is governed by the interplay of viral factors, host characteristics such as age and comorbidity, and the intensity of the im…
Coronavirus disease severity describes the range of clinical outcomes following infection, from asymptomatic or mild illness to severe respiratory failure, critical illness and death. Severity is governed by the interplay of viral factors, host characteristics such as age and comorbidity, and the intensity of the immune and inflammatory response, with excessive cytokine activity contributing to lung and systemic injury. Research relevant to severity includes cytokine profiling in hospitalised patients during the pre-storm phase of disease, the use of prognostic markers such as serum ferritin to predict in-hospital mortality, and chest computed tomography findings that reflect the extent of pulmonary involvement. Treatment evaluations, including the effect of hydroxychloroquine on clinical improvement and mortality, address how interventions influence the course of severe disease, while the molecular evolution of the virus may bear on the virulence of circulating lineages. Severity also has epidemiological and statistical dimensions, reflected in analyses of pandemic data and risk of death in defined populations. Understanding the determinants of disease severity supports risk stratification, appropriate allocation of care, and the development of therapies that target the mechanisms driving progression, helping clinicians distinguish patients likely to deteriorate from those expected to recover with supportive management.
12 peer-reviewed articles, ranked by relevance. Each links to its DOI.
The 12 articles above have been cited 16 times in the scholarly literature. Citation data via OpenAlex and Crossref, updated Jun 2026.
A sample of recent works citing this journal's research on Coronavirus Disease Severity, linking to each citing work.