The Role of Dynamic Changes in Hematologic and Biochemical Parameters in Predicting Mortality in Covid-19 Patients.

Objectives: The role of hematologic, inflammatory and biochemical parameters as biomarkers, their role in identifying risky patients in the early stage and their role in prognosis in COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) were investigated.

Methods: The study included patients who were hospitalized and followed up with a prediagnosis of COVID-19 in the first wave in our country at the University of Health Sciences, Sisli Hamidiye Etfal Training and Research Hospital Demographic and clinical characteristics as well as complete blood count, C reactive protein (CRP), procalcitonin (PCT), fibrinogen (FIB), ferritin, albumin (ALB), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels on admission, third, seventh and 14th days were analyzed. Patients were grouped and compared according to the occurrence of death during hospital follow-up. Variables considered significant on mortality were analyzed with univariate and multivariate logistic regression models.

Results: The study was conducted with 485 patients, 273 (56.3%) males and 212 (43.72%) females. The mean age of the patients was 58±16.2 years, and 71% were in the mild-moderate and 29% in the severe-critical disease group. Disease severity, the need for intensive care unit (ICU) follow-up, and the development of death were positively correlated with age, comorbidity, neutrophil (NE), leukocyte, neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), PCT, CRP, ferritin, LDH values, and negatively correlated with lymphocyte (LE), ALB and hemoglobin (HGB) values. In multivariate analysis, elevated PCT at hospital admission (OR: 6.96 [1.63;39.65]), LDH ≥ 352U/L (OR: 4.35 [1.23;16.61]), LE<0.810 × 109/L (OR: 3.0 [1.16;7.85]) and advanced age (OR: 1.08 [1.03;1.14]) were independently associated with in-hospital death. In hemogram and acute phase reactant monitoring, PCT, CRP and LDH were the most valuable markers for predicting death, respectively (third-day AUC: 0.90;0.83;0.83 and seventh-day AUC: 0.95;0.90;0.89, respectively).

Conclusion: In our study, leukocytes, lymphocytes, NLR, CRP, PCT, ferritin, albumin and LDH at admission were valuable in predicting poor prognosis. In addition, it was determined that increases in PCT, LDH and CRP during follow-up could be used to predict in-hospital death and to identify patients requiring close follow-up.