CORONA - ICROVID - Identification of cardiovascular and molecular prognostic factors for morbidity and mortality in COVID-19 sepsis.

This project aims to make a significant contribution to the management of the COVID-19 crisis by investigating clinical and molecular mechanisms of COVID-19 disease in the acute phase and in the further course - with a focus on cardiovascular events. In the clinical picture of sepsis, also known as blood poisoning, a dysregulated host response of the body to an infection leads to life-threatening organ failure. Sepsis can also occur in severe cases of the disease "Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19)" caused by the virus SARS-CoV-2. In particular, there is evidence that there is an increased incidence of cardiovascular complications with COVID-19. These include impaired cardiac output, damage to the inner vessel walls, and thromboembolic events. A multicenter prospective cohort study in German ICUs is planned to identify cardiovascular and molecular prognostic factors for mid-term disease severity and mortality after COVID-19-associated sepsis. A comprehensive clinical evaluation focusing on the cardiovascular system will be complemented by high-dimensional laboratory chemical and molecular biology analyses of biomaterials. The scientific work is expected to contribute to the elucidation of pathophysiology in severe COVID-19 courses and thus provide a basis for the development of targeted personalized therapies.