Routine laboratory parameters, including complete blood count, predict COVID-19 in-hospital mortality in geriatric...

Area of Science:

• Geriatric Medicine
• Infectious Diseases
• Clinical Pathology

Background:

• COVID-19 poses a significant mortality risk for older adults.
• Accurate prediction of in-hospital mortality is crucial for managing geriatric COVID-19 patients.
• Frailty and comorbidities are known risk factors, but routine biomarkers require further evaluation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the predictive performance of routine laboratory biomarkers for in-hospital mortality in geriatric COVID-19 patients.
• To identify key hematological parameters that can independently predict mortality.
• To evaluate the utility of these biomarkers beyond established clinical factors like frailty and comorbidity scores.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 641 hospitalized geriatric COVID-19 patients.
• Evaluation of routine laboratory tests including complete blood count parameters.
• Statistical analysis using Cox regression models to identify independent predictors of mortality.

Main Results:

• Thirty-four percent of patients died during hospitalization.
• Neutrophilia, eosinopenia, lymphopenia, elevated neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), and low lymphocyte counts were associated with increased mortality.
• Complete blood count parameters (neutrophil %, NLR, dNLR, PLR, lymphocyte count, eosinophil %, LMR) were significant independent predictors of in-hospital mortality.

Conclusions:

• Routine laboratory tests, particularly complete blood count parameters, are valuable tools for predicting in-hospital mortality in geriatric COVID-19 patients.
• These biomarkers offer predictive value independently of age, gender, baseline comorbidities, and frailty.
• Integrating these hematological parameters into risk assessment can improve clinical management of elderly COVID-19 patients.