PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Colin J Crooks AU - Joe West AU - Joanne R Morling AU - Mark Simmonds AU - Irene Juurlink AU - Steve Briggs AU - Simon Cruickshank AU - Susan Hammond-Pears AU - Dominick Shaw AU - Timothy R Card AU - Andrew Fogarty TI - Age modifies both the maximal temperature and inflammatory response in patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection AID - 10.7861/clinmed.2021-0603 DP - 2022 May 01 TA - Clinical Medicine PG - 192--196 VI - 22 IP - 3 4099 - http://www.rcpjournals.org/content/22/3/192.short 4100 - http://www.rcpjournals.org/content/22/3/192.full SO - Clin Med2022 May 01; 22 AB - Objective To determine the maximal response of the temperature and inflammatory response to SARS-CoV-2 infection and how these are modified by age.Methods Participants were patients admitted to hospital with SARS-CoV-2 infection. For each participant, the maximal temperature and serum C-reactive protein (CRP) were identified and stratified by age. In a secondary analysis, these were compared in patients treated before and after dexamethasone.Results Mean maximal temperature varied by age (p<0.001; ANOVA) with the highest mean maximal temperature of 37.3°C observed in patients aged 30–49 years and decreasing maximal mean temperatures in the older age groups, with the lowest measure of 36.8°C observed in individuals aged 90–99 years. The mean maximal serum CRP also varied across age groups (p<0.001; ANOVA) and increased with age across all age categories from 34.5 mg/dL (95% confidence interval (CI) 22.0–47.0) for individuals aged 20–29 years to 77.6 mg/dL (95% CI 72.0–83.2) in those aged 80–89 years. After dexamethasone became standard treatment for COVID-19 pneumonia, mean maximal CRP decreased by 17 mg/dL (95% CI −22 to −11).Conclusion Age modifies both maximal temperature and systemic inflammatory response in patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection.