Evaluation of Inflammatory and Hematological Parameters in Patients
Diagnosed with COVID-19
Abstract
Background: COVID-19, as a contagious infectious disease, can affect
many systems and cause changes in inflammatory and hematological
parameters. This study aims to research the effects of hematological and
inflammatory parameters on prognosis of the disease and the duration of
hospitalization. Methods: 186 patients aged 15-92 with positive COVID-19
PCR test results and a control group consisting of 187 healthy
individuals with similar characteristics in terms of age and gender are
included in the study. Age, gender, hematological variables, and
inflammatory parameters of the patients on the 1st and 5th days of
hospitalization were recorded retrospectively. Results: The mean age of
the patient’s group was 47.0 ± 18.4 years and 54.3% were male. WBC,
lymphocyte count, and platelet count were statistically lower in the
patient group compared to the control group, while MPV, NLR, and PLR
levels were higher. On the 5th day of the patient follow-up compared to
admission day, it was observed that the neutrophil count and MPV level
were lower; However, the platelet count and ferritin level were
statistically higher. While there was a significantly positive
correlation between the duration of hospitalization and the 5th day
D-dimer (r = 0546, p < 0.001) and ferritin (r = 0.568, p
< 0.001); there was a negative correlation between the
duration of hospitalization and admission day lymphocyte count (r =
0.256, p = 0.006) and the 5th day lymphocyte count (r = 0.325, p
< 0.001). Conclusion: Increased levels of ferritin and D-dimer
and decreased count of lymphocyte are among important factors affecting
the duration of hospitalization for COVID-19 patients. Furthermore, we
think that neutrophil count and MPV levels are low and platelet count
and ferritin levels are high during the course of the disease, so these
parameters can be used as prognostic indicators of the disease.