Özet:

Aim: COVID-19 is a viral respiratory disease primarily characterized by high fever and shortness of breath, known to be transmitted through droplets and contact. The clinical course of the disease varies from person to person. Differences in the clinical course of COVID-19 may be attributed to factors such as comorbidities, age, and could also be based on individual genetic variations in the inflammatory response. In this study, we aimed to investigate the relationship between the severity of clinical manifestations of COVID-19 and the IL8/CXCL8 rs4073 gene polymorphism. Material and Methods: The IL8/CXCL8 rs4073 (-251A/T) gene polymorphism was determined using the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method in 150 COVID-19 patients who were classified into three groups based on the severity of their clinical manifestations: mild, moderate, and severe. Results: Our results demonstrated no significant difference in genotype and allele frequency distribution between the IL8/CXCL8 rs4073 gene polymorphism and disease severity. However, when evaluated in terms of clinical findings, the T allele was found to be more common in COVID-19 cases with pneumonia symptoms, and it was determined that the T allele increased the risk of pneumonia in COVID-19 by 1.7 times. Conclusion: The findings from this study suggest that the IL8/CXCL8 rs4073 gene polymorphism could serve as a potential marker that, through early treatment and monitoring, could help prevent the progression of pneumonia in patients. Further studies with larger populations, involving a greater number of patients, are needed to validate these findings.