Open AccessEvaluation of hematological parameters as an indicator of disease severity in Covid‐19 patients: Pakistan's experience
Author(s) -
Waris Abdul,
Din Misbahud,
Khalid Atiqa,
Abbas Lail Raees,
Shaheen Asmat,
Khan Nida,
Nawaz Mehboob,
Baset Abdul,
Ahmad Imtiaz,
Ali Muhammad
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of clinical laboratory analysis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.536
H-Index - 50
eISSN - 1098-2825
pISSN - 0887-8013
DOI - 10.1002/jcla.23809
Subject(s) - medicine , lymphocyte , white blood cell , monocyte , platelet , mean platelet volume , gastroenterology , red blood cell distribution width , covid-19 , neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio , peripheral blood cell , immunology , peripheral blood , disease , infectious disease (medical specialty)
Background The severity of COVID‐19 could be evaluated by examining several blood parameters mainly white blood cell (WBC) count, granulocytes, platelet, and novel hemocytometric markers neutrophils to lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet‐to‐lymphocyte (PLR), and lymphocyte to monocyte ratio (LMR). The current study was conducted to investigate alteration in blood parameters and their association with the severity and mortality of COVID‐19 patients. Methodology An observational cross‐sectional study was conducted retrospectively, a total of 101 COVID‐19 positive patients were examined: 52 were mild, 24 were moderate, 09 were severe, and 16 were critically diseased patients. We also recorded 16 deaths associated with the critical group. The overall mean age observed in our study was 48.94 years, where the mean age for critical individuals was 62.12 ± 14.35 years. Results A significant association between the disease severity and elevation in blood parameters were observed. The WBC's and granulocyte count were significantly increased ( p value <0.001) while the mean platelet count (165.0 × 10 9 /L) and red blood cell volume distribution width (RDW) were decreased in the critical group (57.86%) compared to mild group's patients (177.3%) ( p = 0.83). The lymphocytes count was decreased in critical patients (1.40 × 10 9 /L) compared to mild patients (1.92 × 10 9 /L) ( p = 0.28). A significant association was observed in platelet‐lymphocyte ratio ( p < 0.001), Neutrophil‐Lymphocyte ratio ( p = <0.001), and Lymphocyte‐Monocyte ratio (0.011). Conclusion These blood parameters could be used as a suitable biomarker for the prognosis and severity of COVID‐19. Evaluating novel hemograms NLR, PLR, and LMR can aid clinicians to identify potentially severe cases at early stages, initiate effective management in time, and conduct early triage which may reduce the overall mortality of COVID‐19 patients.