Evaluation of Clinical Characteristics and Plasma Cortisol Concentrations in Individuals with COVID-19 and Post-COVID Syndrome

COVID-19 generates systematic alterations in humans both in active stages of infection and over time, called post-COVID syndrome. Cortisol is a hormone that is overexpressed in inflammation and cellular stress processes. Its main function is to return to physiological homeostasis, so its evaluation together with other clinical parameters can allow us to determine the degree of systemic affectation by COVID-19. Objective: To evaluate changes in clinical parameters and plasma cortisol concentrations in patients with active COVID-19 and post-COVID syndrome. Material and Methods: Healthy patients, in stages of mild infection, critical and with post-COVID syndrome, were recruited, obtaining, through clinical diagnoses and interviews, their main clinical characteristics, in addition to plasma, in which cortisol concentrations were determined using competitive ELISA. Results: The critical stage group had higher frequencies of comorbidities, clinical symptoms, as well as more altered laboratory parameters compared to the other subgroups. In the post-COVID syndrome group after the initial infection, most laboratory parameters recovered, however, several clinical symptoms remained latent over time. The determination of cortisol showed an increase in its concentration, being higher in patients in critical stage and with post-COVID syndrome. Conclusion: COVID-19 disease generates clinical alterations that trigger an increase in plasma cortisol. These alterations increase as the stages of infection become more severe and some of them remain altered in patients with post-COVID syndrome.