Biochemical Parameters in Confirmed Covid-19 Patients: A Hospital Based Study from Eastern Nepal

Area of Science:

• Biochemistry
• Clinical Medicine
• Infectious Diseases

Background:

• COVID-19 presents with diverse clinical manifestations globally.
• Effective treatments for COVID-19 remain under development.
• Understanding biochemical changes is crucial for patient management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate biochemical parameters in confirmed COVID-19 patients.
• To identify potential biomarkers for disease severity assessment.
• To correlate biochemical findings with clinical status in Nepal.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective, hospital-based cross-sectional study.
• Inclusion of 202 confirmed COVID-19 patients admitted to BPKIHS.
• Analysis of routine biochemical tests using Cobas c311 autoanalyzer.

Main Results:

• Elevated liver enzymes (ALT, AST, ALP, GGT) and cardiac enzymes (CK-total, CK-MB) were observed.
• Increased serum ferritin, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) were noted.
• Over 50% of patients exhibited abnormal biochemical findings.

Conclusions:

• Biomarkers like hs-CRP, LDH, and ferritin are vital for managing COVID-19.
• These markers assist in monitoring disease progression and severity.
• Cost-effective markers such as CRP, LDH, and HbA1c can aid in monitoring COVID-19 infection severity.