Estimation of Hematological Parameters of Disease Severity in Iraqi Patients with COVID-19

Abstract

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a systemic disease with a substantial impact on the hematopoietic system and hemostasis. Neutrophilia is an early indicator of SARS-CoV-2 infection, while lymphopenia acts as a biomarker of the severity of infection, and the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is the main indicator of cytokine storms. Thus, this study aimed to provide local data about hematological parameters among COVID-19 patients and estimate their correlation with viral load and other factors in severe cases. A total of 99 nasopharyngeal swabs and whole blood specimens were collected from individuals suspected with COVID-19 between October and December 2020. Samples were tested by real time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) assay, COVID-19 IgG and IgM antibody tests, beside hematological analysis. The results showed a significant increase in neutrophils count and NLR, correlated with the severity of the disease Patients at older ages who are suffering from some comorbidity like hypertension and diabetes are at elevated risk to develop more severe disease outcome. The findings demonstrated a higher neutrophils count and higher death ratio in older ages. Also, the results suggest that NLR could be employed as a useful biomarker and potential prognostic tool supporting the importance of laboratory records in assessing case severity and disease progression.

Potential Role of TLR3 and RIG-I Genes Expression in Surviving COVID-19 Patients with Different Severity of Infection

“…Hence, no significant differences were recorded between them (P>0.05). Wolf et al [2] noticed that the males comprise 54.3-57.3% of hospital admissions and 61.1% of intensive care unit (ICU) patients in China [2].However our study revealed that the male patients comprised 41-46% of hospital admissions and 55.62% of intensive care unit (ICU) in Baghdad. According to Krieger et al [11] males accounted for 62% of in-hospital mortality in Wuhan.…”

“…The clinical manifestations of SARS-CoV-2 illness are extensive, spanning from silent or mild variants to acute severe pneumonia with serious lung damage and mortality [1]. SARS-CoV-2 intensity and death have been linked to old age, overweight, chronic illnesses and vitamin D deficiency [2]. Furthermore, the intensity of COVID-19 is compounded by an enhanced inflammatory response generated by SARS-CoV-2 which manifests itself as increased levels of inflammatory indicators, mainly pro-inflammatory mediators [3].…”

Complete Blood Count and saliva parameters as an indicator for infected patients with coronavirus covid-19

“…The majority of circulating leukocytes are neutrophils, which take part in a variety of immunological and inflammatory processes through phagocytosis, particle formation, cytokine release, and other mechanisms. Patients with COVID-19 may have a bad prognosis because of elevated nytrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR) values and low lymphocyte/C reactive protein ratio (LCR) levels that imply an intensified inflammatory process (42) Additionally, the assessed neutrophil or neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is thought to be the primary marker of cytokine storms, especially in individuals who are older and have a chronic illness (43,44) .However, the NLR may be related to the severity of the disease, and frequent use of these parameters may help in the assessment of the condition (45) .…”

Analysis of Mutations in Conserved and Susceptible Regions Across the Whole Genome Sequencing Analysis for SARS-CoV-2 in Iraqi Patients

“…Nasopharyngeal (NP) or nasopharyngeal (OP) specimen (200μl) was used for viral RNA extraction via the Exiprep TM Plus Viral DNA/RNA Kit (Bioneer, Korea). SARS-CoV-2 infection was detected using a particular real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) on nasopharyngeal swab specimens according to the AccuPower® SARS-CoV-2 Multiplex Real-Time RT-PCR Kit, and recognizing particular E, N, and RdRp gene sequences [7]. Three SARS-CoV-2 highly positive specimens with threshold (Ct) values ranging between (15)(16)(17) and the NGS technique, was used to evaluate samples from three distinct Iraqi areas for the whole genome sequencing.…”