D-dimers in omicron versus delta: A retrospective analysis

Area of Science:

• Medical research
• Virology
• Hematology

Background:

• SARS-CoV-2 infection elevates D-dimers, indicating severity and mortality risk.
• The B.1.617.2 (delta) variant is associated with higher D-dimer levels.
• Limited data exists on D-dimer levels during B.1.1.529 (omicron) variant infections.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of age, gender, and SARS-CoV-2 variants (delta and omicron) on D-dimer levels.
• To compare D-dimer levels between delta and omicron variant infections in South African patients.
• To identify key predictors of D-dimer levels in SARS-CoV-2 infected individuals.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 16,010 adult patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection.
• Data collection included age, gender, PCR results, and admission D-dimer levels.
• Patients were categorized into delta (May-Oct 2021) and omicron (Nov-Dec 2021) infection groups.

Main Results:

• Omicron infections had a median D-dimer of 0.54 µg/mL, significantly lower than delta.
• Omicron infection was associated with a 34.30% reduction in D-dimer compared to delta.
• Age was a significant predictor, with older age groups showing substantially higher D-dimer levels. Males had slightly lower D-dimer levels than females.

Conclusions:

• The B.1.1.529 (omicron) variant is associated with significantly lower D-dimer levels than the B.1.617.2 (delta) variant.
• Age is a more significant predictor of D-dimer levels than gender or SARS-CoV-2 variant.
• Findings offer insights into the hypercoagulable effects of different SARS-CoV-2 variants, aiding patient management.