Evaluating the clinical, radiological, microbiological, biochemical parameters and the treatment response in COVID-19 pneumonia

Abstract

Aim: The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has led to over 200,000,000 confirmed cases and over 4,250,000 confirmed deaths worldwide. The present study aimed to explore the links between epidemiological, clinical, biochemical, microbiological, and radiological data and treatment responses of inpatients with COVID-19 pneumonia. Material and Method: The study included 131 patients hospitalized for COVID-19 pneumonia. Laboratory values ​​such as complete blood count, coagulation profile, AST, LDH, sedimentation, CRP, BUN, creatinine, and D-dimer of the patients were analyzed. The diagnosis of COVID-19 was established by RT-PCR testing of respiratory tract samples. Thoracic CT images were used to determine the severity of involvement in patients. Statistical analyses were performed to establish the differences between the groups and the relationships between the variables. Results: The most common comorbidities of the patients were hypertension (35.1%) and diabetes mellitus (24.5%). The patients with fever, cough, and dyspnea and who were PCR positive had the highest radiological involvement severity score. The involvement severity scores were negatively correlated with the lymphocyte count, lymphocyte percentage, and albumin levels ​​(p<0.05). Concerning prognostic risk factors, the mean percentages of lymphocytes and eosinophils were significantly higher in the fully recovered patients than those in the intensive care unit (p<0.05). Conclusion: Our study identified the percentages of lymphocytes and eosinophils as prognostic factors. Identifying the risk factors that predict the possibility of disease progression on admission may contribute to physicians' patient management, increase the therapeutic effect, and reduce the COVID-19 mortality rate.

Keywords

• COVID-19
• Pneumonia
• clinical parameters

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