Early risk factors of the exacerbation of coronavirus disease 2019 pneumonia

The purpose of this study was to investigate the early risk factors for the exacerbation of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia. Restrospective analysis of clinical data of 85 patients infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), including gender, age, comorbidities, symptoms, blood routine, clotting profile, biochemical examination, albumin, myocardial enzyme profile, inflammatory markers, and chest computed tomography (CT). All laboratory examinations were measured within first 24 hours after admission, and chest CT was performed before admission. A total of 56 (65.9%) patients had a history of exposure to the Huanan seafood market in Wuhan. Fever and dry cough accounted for the highest percentage of all symptoms. Male COVID-2019 patients were more likely to develop severe pneumonia. Patients with severe and critical conditions are older and have higher rates of hypertension (P = .003) and coronary heart disease (P = .017). All severe and critical patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 showed bilateral lung involvement and have more multiple lobes involvement than common patients (P < .001). Severe and critical patients showed higher white blood cell count (P = .006), neutrophil (NEU) count (P = .001), NEU% (P = .002), procalcitonin (P = .011), C-reactive protein (P = .003), prothrombin time (P = .035), D-dimer (P = .025), aspartate aminotransferase (P = .006), and lower lymphocyte (LYM) count (P = .019), LYM% (P = .001), albumin (P < .001). Logistic regression analysis showed that NEU count is an independent risk factor for deterioration, with the threshold of 6.5 × 10⁹ ·L^-1 . We concluded that the laboratory independent risk factor for the progression of COVID-19 pneumonia is NEU count. In addition, COVID-19 patients with bilateral lung involvement or multiple lobes involvement should be taken seriously and actively treated to prevent deterioration of the disease.