How informative are the leukocyte formula and ESR for COVID-19 patients’ monitoring?

Abstract

To provide dynamic monitoring of the treatment effectiveness in the case of patients with a new coronavirus infection, it is important to consider that simple and illustrative methods are needed. A clinical blood test is the first and mandatory patients’ examination. This article presents the analysis of the leukocyte formula parameters and the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) in COVID-19 patients before treatment and during the period from the 1st to the 15th day of standard treatment. Therefore, lymphocytopenia, neutrophilosis, and increased ESR were recorded upon the patients’ admission to the hospital. Statistically significant deviations were manifested on the 10th day of treatment in the absolute WBC count increase in the case of existing leukopenia. During treatment, an increase in the number of patients with normal ESR, as well as a decrease in neutrophilosis, leukopenia and lymphopenia was observed, but no statistically significant differences were found.

Estimation of Variations in the Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate in COVID-19 Recovered Patients

“…The pandemic global outbreak COVID -19 is a new human infecting beta coronavirus that is likely to be originated from the chrysanthemum bats [1]. The novel virus SARS-CoV-2 is found to cause a type of pneumonia-associated condition termed Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) [2]. The virus appears to be spherical and has proteins called spikes protruding from their surface [3].…”