Dynamic Changes in Routine Laboratory Parameters with COVID-19: In-depth Analysis of 17 Patients Requiring Critical Care
Karniza Khalid1, Amira Aishah Che Ani2, Azhar Abdul Orani2, Nur Najmi Abdul Halim2,
and
Azman Abd Hamid2
1.Clinical Research Centre, Hospital Tuanku Fauziah, Perlis, Ministry of Health, Malaysia
2.Department of Anaesthesiology and Critical Care, Hospital Tuanku Fauziah, Perlis, Ministry of Health, Malaysia
2.Department of Anaesthesiology and Critical Care, Hospital Tuanku Fauziah, Perlis, Ministry of Health, Malaysia
Abstract—Dynamic changes in routine blood parameters in COVID-19 patients might be helpful to prognosticate deterioration in COVID-19 patients and evaluate treatment effect. Our study aimed to evaluate the temporal changes in red blood cell indices (MCV, MCH, MCHC, RDW) in COVID-19 patients and the association of other relevant clinical parameters. We analysed 17 medical records of COVID-19 patients in retrospect who required critical care from 1 January 2020 until 28 February 2021 in Hospital Tuanku Fauziah, Perlis, Malaysia. Data extracted include details with regards to escalation and de-escalation of oxygen therapy, clinical and laboratory parameters. There were three time points of interest in our study: (i) admission (Adm), (ii) highest mode of oxygen therapy (HighM), and (iii) weaned off oxygen therapy (WeanOxy). The result showed that the mean duration to clinical deterioration requiring the highest mode of oxygen delivery was 2.3 ± 1.85 days and the highest escalation device for oxygen delivery was high flow nasal cannula (n=7, 41.2%). There was no statistically significant difference in RDW, MCV, MCH, and MCHC at different clinical time points, p>0.05. However, there was a statistically significant increment in TWBC trend between Adm-HighM-WeanOxy, χ2(2)=7.023, p=0.030. Our study did not find evidence of structural RBC changes reflected in RBC indices. However, recovery from COVID-19 was reflected in the rise of TWBC and ANC, similar to that observed with other viral illnesses.
Copyright © 2022 by the authors. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided that the article is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.
Index Terms—clinical deterioration, COVID-19, critical care, leukocyte count, Malaysia, SARS-CoV-2
Cite: Karniza Khalid, Amira Aishah Che Ani, Azhar Abdul Orani, Nur Najmi Abdul Halim, and Azman Abd Hamid, "Dynamic Changes in Routine Laboratory Parameters with COVID-19: In-depth Analysis of 17 Patients Requiring Critical Care," International Journal of Pharma Medicine and Biological Sciences, Vol. 11, No. 3, pp. 65-69, July 2022. doi: 10.18178/ijpmbs.11.3.65-69Copyright © 2022 by the authors. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided that the article is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.