Assessing the impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection on hematological parameters.

Abstract

Background: The current study is a retrospective study designed to evaluate changes in complete blood count and coagulation parameters in adult coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients at a prominent Saudi tertiary center to predict disease severity and mortality.

Methods: The cohort consisted of 74 800 adult patients divided into four groups based on a COVID-19 test and the patient's sex: 35 985 in the female negative COVID-19 group, 23 278 in the male negative COVID-19 group, 8846 in the female positive COVID-19 group and 6691 in the male positive COVID-19 group.

Results: Patients with COVID-19 demonstrated decreased white blood cell counts and increased red blood cell counts. Also, COVID-19-positive participants exhibited more prolonged partial thromboplastin time and lower D-dimer levels than those of COVID-19-negative subjects (p<0.05). The study also revealed gender-dependent impacts on platelet counts, implying a possible relationship with the greater infection mortality rate in men than in women (p<0.001). In addition, the study found a link between changes in coagulation test results and death in COVID-19 patients (p<0.001). The evidence regarding the effects of COVID-19 on blood cell counts and coagulation, on the other hand, is conflicting, most likely due to variances in study populations and the timing of testing postinfection.

Conclusions: According to the findings, COVID-19-related alterations in blood cell count and clotting ability may be risk factors for death.