Comparison of demographic features and laboratory parameters between COVID-19 deceased patients and surviving severe and critically ill cases

Abstract

BACKGROUND Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been far more devastating than expected, showing no signs of slowing down at present. Heilongjiang Province is the most northeastern province of China, and has cold weather for nearly half a year and an annual temperature difference of more than 60ºC, which increases the underlying morbidity associated with pulmonary diseases, and thus leads to lung dysfunction. The demographic features and laboratory parameters of COVID-19 deceased patients in Heilongjiang Province, China with such climatic characteristics are still not clearly illustrated. AIM To illustrate the demographic features and laboratory parameters of COVID-19 deceased patients in Heilongjiang Province by comparing with those of surviving severe and critically ill cases. METHODS COVID-19 deceased patients from different hospitals in Heilongjiang Province were included in this retrospective study and compared their characteristics with those of surviving severe and critically ill cases in the COVID-19 treatment center of the First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University. The surviving patients were divided into severe group and critically ill group according to the Diagnosis and Treatment of New Coronavirus Pneumonia (the seventh edition). Demographic data were collected and recorded upon admission. Laboratory parameters were obtained from the medical records, and then compared among the groups. RESULTS Twelve COVID-19 deceased patients, 27 severe cases and 26 critically ill cases were enrolled in this retrospective study. No differences in age, gender, and number of comorbidities between groups were found. Neutrophil percentage (NEUT%), platelet (PLT), C-reactive protein (CRP), creatine kinase isoenzyme (CK-MB), serum troponin I (TNI) and brain natriuretic peptides (BNP) showed significant differences among the groups ( P = 0.020, P = 0.001, P < 0.001, P = 0.001, P < 0.001, P < 0.001, respectively). The increase of CRP, D-dimer and NEUT% levels, as well as the decrease of lymphocyte count (LYMPH) and PLT counts, showed significant correlation with death of COVID-19 patients ( P = 0.023, P = 0.008, P = 0.045, P = 0.020, P = 0.015, respectively). CONCLUSION Compared with surviving severe and critically ill cases, no special demographic features of COVID-19 deceased patients were observed, while some laboratory parameters including NEUT%, PLT, CRP, CK-MB, TNI and BNP showed significant differences. COVID-19 deceased patients had higher CRP, D-dimer and NEUT% levels and lower LYMPH and PLT counts.

Variant-Related Differences in Laboratory Biomarkers among Patients Affected with Alpha, Delta and Omicron: A Retrospective Whole Viral Genome Sequencing and Hospital-Setting Cohort Study

“…Infection with the Delta variant is also considered to induce an increase in D-dimer serum levels [ 22 ]. Other studies and meta-analyses have also found that D-dimer levels were noticeably greater in COVID-19 patients than in healthy controls, and this coagulation derangement has been correlated with disease severity and higher mortality, confirming our findings [ 6 , 18 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 ]. However, contrary to our findings, a study by Shulman AH et al, 2022 carried out in Johannesburg showed that D-dimer serum levels in patients infected by the Omicron variant did not rise as much compared to those infected by the Delta variant [ 22 ].…”

“…In everyday clinical practice, specific laboratory parameters are used to evaluate the overall clinical status of patients presenting at the emergency departments of hospitals and, later on, to monitor their ongoing condition in case of hospitalization. Variations of such parameters have been deemed to predict the severity of the infection and have been correlated with clinical outcomes [ 6 ]. However, to the best of our knowledge, there is no data illustrating how specific laboratory parameters may vary among patients affected by different SARS-CoV-2 VOCs documented by full genome sequencing.…”

C-Reactive protein role in assessing COVID-19 deceased geriatrics and survivors of severe and critical illness

“…The Wang et al [ 1 ] study demonstrated a strong significant correlation between CRP in the sera of geriatric patients ( r = 0.67; P = 0.023) and the fatality rates among cases, which was consistent with previous studies[ 3 , 10 ].…”

“…With interest, we read Wang et al 's study published in World J Clin Cases 2022, which discussed differences in lab biomarkers and patient risk factors linked to fatal outcomes in elderly patients following the acquisition of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)[ 1 ]. Advanced life expectancy and improved medical services have increased the number of geriatrics in the community, who represent a critical vulnerable group for COVID-19[ 2 ].…”

Dynamic lymphocyte-CRP ratio as a predictor: a single-centre retrospective study on disease severity and progression in adult COVID-19 patients

“… 4 – 6 In the absence of available targeted therapy, timely detection of patients at high risk of disease deterioration and effective tailored interventions at an early stage are important and essential clinical management strategies for COVID-19 patients, in addition to active preventive measures. 7 , 8 Therefore, every effort should be made to explore simple and effective indicators in clinical practice so as to achieve the above goals and thus improve the prognosis of COVID-19 patients.…”