COVID-19: Monitoring of patients’ laboratory data during a 90-day length of hospital stay

Abstract

Background: In March 2020, COVID-19 was declared a pandemic. In this study, patients were selected through the chest HRCT diagnosis. Laboratory tests such as blood count, fibrinogen, D-dimer, AST, ALT, troponin, LDH, albumin, CRP, electrolytes and ferritin were analyzed. Aims: To monitor the laboratory evolution of COVID-19 in patients during hospitalization. Method: Of 115 patients, 93 were selected and analyzed every three days for 90 days. Data were analyzed using the IBM, SPSS, Statistics for Windows, 23.0 software. Results: 34.4% were female, and 65.6% male; Hct and Hb dropped after the 13th day of hospitalization; leukocyte levels remained up to 15,000, increasing to >20,000 after the 55th day of hospitalization; lymphopenia occurred in 10 to 15% of the patients, with increased eosinophils; platelet levels decreased at the end of hospitalization. Fibrinogen, D-dimer, LDH, CRP and ferritin levels increased throughout the hospitalization period. Urea and creatinine increased slightly from the 30th day onwards. There were no alterations in PTA, troponin, chlorine, potassium and albumin levels, with a decrease throughout the hospitalization period. Conclusion: Knowledge of the behavior of laboratory tests together with the disease evolution give support to the clinical and therapeutic management of COVID-19.