COVID-19, caused by SARS-CoV-2, is a contagious life-threatening viral disease that has killed more than three million people worldwide to date. Attempts have been made to identify biomarker(s) to stratify disease severity and improve treatment and resource allocation. Patients with SARS-COV-2 infection manifest with a higher inflammatory response and platelet hyperreactivity; this raises the question of the role of thrombopoiesis in COVID-19 infection. Immature platelet fraction (IPF, %) and immature platelet counts (IPC, 910 9 /l) can be used to assess thrombopoiesis. This study investigates whether the level of thrombopoiesis correlates with COVID-19 severity. A large cohort of 678 well-characterized COVID-19 patients was analyzed, including 658 (97%) hospitalized and 139 (21%) admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU). Elevated percentage IPF at presentation was predictive of length of hospitalization (P < 0Á01) and ICU admission (P < 0Á05). Additionally, percentage IPF at the peak was significantly higher among ICU patients than non-ICU patients (6Á9 AE 5Á1 vs 5Á3 AE 8Á4, P < 0Á01) and among deceased patients than recovered patients (7Á9 AE 6Á3 vs 5Á4 AE 7Á8, P < 0Á01). Furthermore, IPC at the peak was significantly higher among ICU patients than non-ICU patients (18Á5 AE 16Á2 vs. 13Á2 AE 8Á3, P < 0Á05) and among patients on a ventilator than those not (22Á1 AE 20Á1 vs.13Á4 AE 8Á4, P < 0Á05). Our study demonstrated that elevated initial and peak values of percentage IPF and IPC might serve as prognostic biomarkers for COVID-19 progression to severe conditions.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.