Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Jun:95:304-307.
doi: 10.1016/j.ijid.2020.04.061. Epub 2020 Apr 25.

Mild versus severe COVID-19: Laboratory markers

Thirumalaisamy P Velavan  1 , Christian G Meyer  2
Affiliations

Mild versus severe COVID-19: Laboratory markers

Thirumalaisamy P Velavan et al. Int J Infect Dis. 2020 Jun.

Abstract

The number of COVID-19 patients is dramatically increasing worldwide. Treatment in intensive care units (ICU) has become a major challenge; therefore, early recognition of severe forms is absolutely essential for timely triaging of patients. While the clinical status, in particular peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO2) levels, and concurrent comorbidities of COVID-19 patients largely determine the need for their admittance to ICUs, several laboratory parameters may facilitate the assessment of disease severity. Clinicians should consider low lymphocyte count as well as the serum levels of CRP, D-dimers, ferritin, cardiac troponin and IL-6, which may be used in risk stratification to predict severe and fatal COVID-19 in hospitalised patients. It is more likely that the course of the disease will be unfavourable if some or all of these parameters are altered.

Keywords: Biomarkers; COVID-19; Laboratory markers; Mild and severe COVID-19.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Huang C., Wang Y., Li X. Clinical features of patients infected with 2019 novel coronavirus in Wuhan. China. Lancet. 2020;395:497–506. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Zhou F., Yu T., Du R. Clinical course and risk factors for mortality of adult inpatients with COVID-19 in Wuhan. China: a retrospective cohort study. Lancet. 2020 - PMC - PubMed
    1. Henry B.M. Lancet Respir Med; 2020. COVID-19, ECMO, and lymphopenia: a word of caution. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Zhang C., Shi L., Wang F.S. Lancet Gastroenterol Hepatol; 2020. Liver injury in COVID-19: management and challenges. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Yeo C., Kaushal S., Yeo D. Enteric involvement of coronaviruses: is faecal-oral transmission of SARS-CoV-2 possible? Lancet Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2020;5:335–337. - PMC - PubMed