Investigation of C-reactive Protein and D-dimer Findings in Patients with COVID-19

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study is to examine the levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) and D-dimer by age and gender in the pandemic caused by the new coronavirus.Methods: Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) diagnoses were made according to the results of real-time polymerase chain reaction and lung computed tomography (n=70). In the study, CRP and coagulation were examined as indicators of inflammation, and D-dimer was examined as an indicator of fibrinolytic system activity. Patients’ age, gender, and CRP and D-dimer values were analyzed with Spearman’s rho correlation, whereas the gender factor was analyzed with the Mann-Whitney U test.Results: Although D-dimer levels were high in women, there was no statistical significance. A correlation was identified between CRP and gender, and the levels in male patients were higher (p=0.049). A positive correlation was found between the patients’ age and CRP and D-dimer findings.Conclusion: There are two main findings in this study. First, age and gender are essential parameters in disease findings due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Their importance overlaps with the finding that inflammation is severe in elderly males and that the mortality is higher than in younger individuals. Second, the CRP and D-dimer test results can be used as practical and reliable biomarkers for COVID-19. We propose that if these two tests, which are already used routinely, are interpreted with consideration of age and gender, they can be used more efficiently in early diagnosis and isolation.

Keywords

• sars-cov-2
• covid-19
• c-reactive protein
• d-dimer