Abstract:

Objective: Various Laboratory and vital parameters, including leukopenia, lymphopenia, neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio elevation, lactate dehydrogenase elevation, D-dimer and ferritin elevation, and low albumin can be used in the diagnosis and assessment of the severity of COVID-19 infection . Methods: The chest computed tomography (CT) scores, lymphopenia, neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio, neutrophil, lymphocyte, lactate dehydrogenase, albumin, C-reactive protein, white blood cells, platelets, basophil, eosinophil, monocytes, procalcitonin, D-dimer, ferritin, ages, genders, hospitalization units, oxygen-free fingertip saturations in room air, additional diseases and symptoms of 693 patients diagnosed with COVID-19 were recorded. The parameters of the patients were compared according to the severity of the chest CT score. Results: As a result of this study neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio was found to be significantly higher in the severe group when compared to the moderate group and the mild group. As chest CT score increased, lactate dehydrogenase level was higher at a statistically significant level in the severe group than in the mild group. Albumin levels were found to be lower in the severe group at a statistically significant level than in the mild group. Monocyte levels were found to be lower in the severe group at a statistically significant level when compared to the moderate and mild groups. Ferritin level was higher in the severe group at a statistically significant level when compared to the moderate and mild groups. When the practical effectiveness of using hematological and biochemical parameters to differentiate patients with severe CT scores from non-severe patients based on the chest CT score of the patients was examined by using the ROC Analysis, it was found that the neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio value had the strongest predictive ability (AUC, 0.787, SD=0.057, P<0.001, 95% CI 0.682-0.683). neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio was found to have 68.2% sensitivity and 68.3% specificity when the cut-off value was set at 5.58 Conclusion: Close clinical and laboratory follow-up can be started by examining neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio, lymphocyte, lactate dehydrogenase, albumin, monocyte and ferritin, predicting that the lung involvement of COVID-19 has increased and early treatment can be started in healthcare centers where chest CT scan is not possible or to avoid frequent CT scans.

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