Biological and radiological biomarkers in SARS-CoV-2 infected healthcare workers in governmental hospitals in Qatar

Abstract

The study explored the association of laboratory parameters with radiologic severity of RT-PCR SARS-CoV-2 infection in healthcare workers (HCWs).We retrospectively studied the HCWs with a positive SARS-CoV-2 PCR. Clinical, laboratory and radiological data were retrieved from the health records. Lung opacities were assessed by two independent radiologists. Inferential statistics were used to determine association with CXR severity, laboratory parameters and demographic characteristics. Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curves for sensitivity and specificity of laboratory parameters to distinguish CXR severity was analyzed.Significant association of C-reactive protein (CRP) (p=0.0001), monocytes and eosinophil's percentages with mild cases was observed. Lymphocyte to CRP Ratio (LCR) was found to be associated with hypertension (p=0.006) and diabetes (p=0.007). The ROC curve for LCR against mild CXR severity showed a sensitivity of 84.5% with a specificity of 60.0%. The neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and lymphocyte to monocyte ratio (LMR) were found to be non-significant. CRP, monocytes, eosinophil's and LCR correlated with mild disease severity in SARS-COV-2 infection confirmed HCWs cases in Qatar. LCR was found to have good sensitivity for discriminating mild cases and can serve as a marker to determine further referral in SARs-CoV-2 patients in a clinical setting.