Clinical manifestations of blood cell parameters and inflammatory factors in 92 patients with COVID-19

Although there are many COVID-19 case series studies, few studies report the relationship between variations in blood cell parameters and inflammatory factors and disease severity. This study aims to describe the dynamic trends in COVID-19 blood cell parameters and inflammatory factors.

Ninety-two patients with confirmed COVID-19 at Jingzhou Central Hospital, Hubei Province, China, between January 23, 2020, and April 10, 2020, were enrolled. Epidemiological data, clinical information, and laboratory test results were collected and analyzed.

As patient age increased, disease severity increased (P<0.0001). The inflammatory factor C-reactive protein (CRP) showed a gradual increasing trend with disease aggravation. Based on dynamic change graphs, CRP in all patients with severe and critical COVID-19 initially increased and then decreased; however, CRP in patients with a good prognosis did not increase again after the initial decline (<20 mg/L). CRP in patients with a poor prognosis returned to a high level (>50 mg/L) 1 week after the initial decrease and continued to fluctuate at a high level. Lymphocyte count (LYM#) in patients with severe and critical disease was significantly lower (<1×10⁹/L) than that in patients with moderate disease; LYM# was significantly increased 3 weeks after disease onset in patients with a good prognosis (>1×10⁹/L), but patients with a poor prognosis continued to have a low LYM#.

CRP and LYM# showed strong correlation with disease progression, suggesting that these parameters could be used to monitor changes in patient condition.