To acknowledge the source of this data in publications, presentations or reports etc., please use the following formulation:
”Data provided by the MGH Emergency Department COVID-19 Cohort (Filbin, Goldberg, Hacohen) with Olink Proteomics”.
Background
COVID-19 patients exhibit a broad range of clinical phenotypes, ranging from asymptomatic to fatal disease. To identify cellular and immune responses associated with outcome, a group of clinicians and immunologists at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) enrolled acutely-ill patients in the Emergency Department in a large, urban, academic hospital in Boston (with institutional review board approval) during the COVID-19 surge from late winter to early spring of 2020. The cohort included patients 18 years or older with a clinical concern for COVID-19 upon ED arrival, and with acute respiratory distress with at least one of the following: 1) tachypnea ≥ 22 breaths per minute; 2) oxygen saturation ≤ 92% on room air; 3) a requirement for supplemental oxygen; or 4) positive-pressure ventilation. Of 384 patients enrolled, 306 (80%) tested positive and 78 patients did not test positive for SARS-CoV-2. COVID-19-positive patients had their blood sampled on days 0, 3, and 7, while virus-negative patients had sampling only on day 0 and served as a comparator group. Comprehensive clinical data were collected on this cohort, including 28-day outcomes classified according to the World Health Organization (WHO) COVID-19 outcomes scale.

Initial analysis
Olink Proteomics joined forces with MGH to quantify the abundance of over 1400 proteins in the plasma of each patient from the cohort of 306 COVID-19 patients and 78 virus-negative patients. To accelerate global research in COVID-19 pathogenesis, we are now sharing the entire dataset with the clinical and scientific community. We hope this unique and large data will be integrated with other datasets to validate findings, develop new insights into what drives COVID-19 disease and ultimately lead to biomarkers for better clinical decision-making and new therapeutic targets.
About the Olink technology used in this study
Olink Proximity Extension Assay (PEA) is a technology developed for high-multiplex analysis of proteins using just a few microliters of samples – view technology video
The full library (Olink Explore 1536) is consisting of 1472 proteins and 48 controls assays divided into four 384-plex panels focused on inflammation, oncology, cardiometabolic and neurology proteins. In each of the four 384-plex panels, overlapping assays of IL-6, IL-8 (CXCL8) and TNF are included for QC purposes.
Library content is based on target selection of low-abundant inflammation proteins, actively secreted proteins, organ-specific proteins leaked into circulation, drug targets (established and from ongoing clinical trials) and proteins detected in blood by mass spectrometry.
Read more about Olink Explore

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