Evaluation of Inflammatory Stress Markers and Coagulation Profile in Hospitalized Coronavirus Disease 2019 Patients: A Retrospective Study
Ananya Bajpai, Akanksha Awasthi, Shalini Gupta, Shivani ShendeBackground:
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) presents across a wide spectrum of clinical severity, from mild illness to severe respiratory failure and multiorgan dysfunction. It is becoming clear that severity of disease is strongly correlated to an intense inflammatory and coagulation response.
Objective:
The study aimed to investigate inflammatory stress biomarkers and coagulation profiles in hospitalized COVID-19 patients and explore the relationships with disease severity.
Materials and Methods:
In this retrospective observational study 694 patients with reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction–confirmed COVID-19 admitted during January 2021 to June 2022 were enrolled. Levels of inflammatory markers, such as C-reactive protein, serum ferritin, and lactate dehydrogenase, and coagulation elements (D-dimer level; prothrombin time [PT]; international normalized ratio [INR]; activated partial thromboplastin time [aPTT]) were measured. The patients were stratified into mild, moderate, and severe groups according to clinical characteristics and radiological findings.
Results:
Baseline coagulation abnormalities were found among COVID-19 hospitalized patients. Analysis by severity showed that inflammatory markers and D-dimer levels progressively increased with disease severity. Severe patients had significantly longer PT and INR, while aPTT was not closely related to severity.
Conclusions:
Inflammation stress indicators and coagulation parameters were significantly related to the severity of COVID-19. Serial monitoring of these laboratory markers could be a valuable tool in early risk stratification and for clinical decision-making during hospitalization.