Value of hematological parameters for predicting patients with severe coronavirus disease 2019: a real-world cohort from Morocco

Abstract

Objective Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a viral disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The clinical manifestations and the evolution of patients with COVID-19 are variable. In addition to respiratory involvement, COVID-19 leads to systemic involvement and can affect the hematopoietic system. This study aimed to evaluate the prognostic value of hematological and hemocytometric parameters in predicting the severity of patients with COVID-19. Methods We performed a retrospective study at Mohammed VI university Hospital from 1 March to 11 November 2020. We collected demographic characteristics and hematological findings of incident COVID-19 cases. Results A total of 245 patients were included in our study. We found that the rate of lymphopenia was significantly reduced in patients who were severely affected by COVID-19. Additionally, the rate of neutrophilia, the neutrophil side fluorescence light signal, monocyte fluorescent intensity, monocyte size, the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, the platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio, and the lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio were significantly elevated in patients who were severely affected by COVID-19. Conclusions These results are consistent with the literature regarding the predictive value of these markers. A prospective validation in a large population with a longer follow-up is required.

Hematopathology of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Infection and Coronavirus Disease-19

“…Several parameters and ratios between blood cells have been associated with disease severity and outcome, including death 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 32 , 33 , 34 ( Box 1 ). When applying the score by Gabr et al, patients with higher scores had generally unfavorable outcomes 26 .…”