Association of Lymphopenia Severity with Clinical Outcomes in Patients with COVID-19
Subject Areas :
MOEIN SOBHANI
1
,
Sharareh Kharazmi
2
*
1 - Faculty of Medicine, Ke.C., Islamic Azad University, Kerman, Iran
2 - Faculty of Medicine, Ke.C., Islamic Azad University, Kerman, Iran
Keywords: COVID-19, Lymphopenia, HRCT, Oxygen saturation, ICU, absolute lymphocyte count,
Abstract :
Lymphopenia is a decrease in the number of circulating lymphocytes. Often, the number of lymphocytes decreases in patients with Covid-19. This study aimed to investigate the association between lymphopenia severity and clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19. A total of 196 COVID-19 patients with a mean age of 53.18 years were included in this cross-sectional study. Patients were over 18 years of age with a positive PCR test or arterial blood oxygen less than 92% requiring oxygen who referred to the emergency department of Payambar-e-Azam Kerman Hospital in 2021. Then the patients were classified and matched into 4 groups based on the number of lymphocytes. Demographic variables, clinical information related to lymphocyte count, length of hospitalization, disease severity, need for ventilation, patient outcome, and arterial blood oxygen saturation were recorded using patient records. Patients with mild lymphopenia had a higher average age (57.33 years) than the other groups. Patients with severe lymphopenia were mostly in the acute respiratory phase (42.9%). A total of one person among the examined people was admitted to the ICU, who was placed in the severe category in terms of lymphopenia. 173 of the examined people needed ventilation. Interestingly, patients with severe lymphopenia had a lesser mean arterial blood oxygen saturation (90.71) than the other groups. Patients with severe lymphopenia had a higher average length of hospitalization than the other groups and had a higher average high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) than the other groups. The severity of lymphopenia was not significant according to gender, but it was significant according to age, disease severity, disease severity, ICU hospitalization, disease outcome, arterial blood oxygen, length of hospitalization, and HRCT. These results suggest that lymphopenia and its severity may serve as reliable predictors for clinical outcomes in managing COVID-19 patients.