Sudan Journal of Medical Sciences (Apr 2020)

The Association of Lymphocyte count, CRP, D-Dimer, and LDH with Severe Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): A Meta-Analysis

  • Almigdad H. M. Ali,
  • Sagad Omer Obeid Mohamed,
  • Ibrahim H. E. Elkhidir,
  • Mohamed Elata Hassan Elbathani,
  • Abazr A. H. Ibrahim,
  • Almutasim B. E. Elhassan,
  • Mohammed Suliman Tawer Salman,
  • Mazin A.M. Elhassan,
  • Mahmoud Elnil,
  • Abdelhamid Ibrahim Hassan Abuzied

DOI
https://doi.org/10.18502/sjms.v15i5.7146
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 15

Abstract

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Background: The rapid progression of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and its increasing burden on health systems necessitate the identification of parameters of severe infection to help in monitoring, prognoses and development of treatment algorithms. Objectives: This review aims to investigate the association of lymphocyte count, CRP, LDH, and D-Dimer with the severity of COVID-19. Methods: This review was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. The databases of MEDLINE/PubMed, WHO-Virtual Health Library (VHL), and ScienceDirect were used for the systematic search. Random effects model was used to estimate the pooled standardized mean differences (SMD) with the corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI), using OpenMeta Analyst software. Results: A total of 11 studies, with 2437 COVID-19 patients, which fulfilled the eligibility criteria were included in the meta-analysis. The analysis revealed that lymphocyte count was significantly lower in patients with the severe form of COVID-19 (SMD = - 1.025, P value <.001). Also, the analysis of SMD showed that patients with severe COVID-19 have a significantly higher serum levels of CRP (SMD = 3.363, P value <.001), D-Dimer (SMD = 1.073, P value <.001), and LDH (SMD = 3.345, P value <.001). Conclusion: Low lymphocyte count and high levels of CRP, LDH, and D-Dimer are associated with severe COVID-19. These laboratory markers could be used as clinical indicators of worsening illness and poor prognosis of COVID-19.

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