Characteristics of peripheral blood differential counts in hospitalized patients with COVID-19.

Background A lot remains unknown about the features and laboratory findings that may predict worse outcomes in patients with Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The aim of this study was to evaluate the difference in complete blood count parameters and differential counts in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 who survived compared to those who died. Design We performed a single center retrospective study including 242 patients with confirmed COVID-19. We described the characteristics of the complete blood count parameters in these patients. Mann Whitney-U test was used to compare hematologic parameters of patients who died and those who survived; multivariate logistic regression was used to look for associations with mortality. Results Patients with COVID-19 who died had significantly lower median absolute monocyte count (AMC) (0.4 vs 0.5, p=0.039) and median platelet count (169 vs 213, p=0.009) compared to those who survived. Patients who died had a significantly higher neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (6.4 vs 4.5, p = 0.001). The NLR was positively associated with death (OR=1.038; 95% CI, 1.003 to 1.074, p=0.031) while AMC was inversely associated with death (OR=0.200; 95% CI, 0.052 to 0.761, p=0.018). Conclusion Among patients with COVID-19, a lower AMC and higher NLR are associated with higher mortality.