Anemia predicts poor outcomes of COVID-19 in hospitalized patients: A Prospective study in a tertiary care hospital from South India

Abstract

Background: Hemoglobin plays a vital role in tissue oxygenation. Hence anemia might significantly affect the prognosis of COVID 19 pneumonia, where in there is development of tissue hypoxia due to the disease pathogenesis.
 Aims and Objectives: To correlate the severity of anemia in COVID 19 patients with disease outcomes in patients admitted in a tertiary care setting.
 Materials and Methods: The prospective single-center study considered adults patients of both the gender, diagnosed with COVID-19 infection by RT-PCR technique. Necessary demographic, clinical data and Hemoglobin level were collected and selected subjects were followed-up until discharge or death. Subjects were classified as those who survived and succumbed to death. t-test was used for comparing continuous variables and chi-square test for categorical data between the groups.
 Results: The study included 1212 patients, where in there was a statistically significant correlation between low hemoglobin level and the disease outcome. The hemoglobin levels were significantly lower in patients who died than the patients who were discharged.
 Conclusion: Severe anemia as noted by low hemoglobin level was associated with higher mortality than subjects with normal hemoglobin.

Prevalence of anemia and mortality among anemic patients with COVID-19 in a tertiary care setting in Nepal

“…Anemia also activates the sympathetic nerve fibres that increases the heart rate, blood pressure and pulmonary capillary leakage causing acute respiratory distress. 10 As COVID-19 virus has hepcidin-mimetic action that cause the depletion of extracellular iron, which withhold the iron from invading pathogen by promoting iron sequestration in macrophages. 5,29 However, that causes the detrimental effect to the cellular defence making person more susceptible to infection thus increasing the mortality.…”

“…8 COVID-19 is also associated with lower hemoglobin levels and higher mortality rates. [9][10][11] This study aims to determine the prevalence of anemia and mortality among COVID patients at a tertiary care centre in Nepal.…”