RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences said on Wednesday that its scientists have developed for the first time a new blood test that can accurately predict which patients will develop a severe form of Covid-19 in partnership with Harvard University, Beaumont Hospital in Dublin and the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.

Called the Dublin-Boston score, the test is designed to enable clinicians to make more informed decisions when identifying patients who may benefit from therapies, such as steroids, and admission to intensive care units. The Dublin-Boston score can now accurately predict how severe the infection will be on day seven after measuring the patient's blood for the first four days, added the university.

The blood test measures the levels of two molecules that send messages to the body's immune system and control inflammation. The interleukin (IL)-6 is pro-inflammatory and the called IL-10 is anti-inflammatory. The levels of both are altered in severe Covid-19 patients. The Dublin-Boston score uses the ratio of IL-6 to IL-10 because it outperformed measuring the change in IL-6 alone.

This COVID-19 study, led by researchers at RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, is published in The Lancet's translational research journal EBioMedicine.