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
. 2022 Aug 11:2022:6510952.
doi: 10.1155/2022/6510952. eCollection 2022.

Contribution of Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate to Predict Disease Severity and Outcome in COVID-19 Patients

Celali Kurt  1 , Arzu Altunçeki Ç Yildirim  1
Affiliations

Contribution of Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate to Predict Disease Severity and Outcome in COVID-19 Patients

Celali Kurt et al. Can J Infect Dis Med Microbiol. .

Abstract

Aim: The use of erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) to determine disease severity and prognosis is limited. This study aimed to interrogate the diagnostic and prognostic role of ESR compared to other acute-phase reactants.

Method: This retrospective cross-sectional study included 493 confirmed and hospitalized adult COVID-19 patients. Pneumonia, radiological severity, oxygen, intensive care requirements, mortality, ESR, and other acute-phase reactant values were recorded. Logistic regression and ROC analysis identified the effect of ESR on mortality and the sensitivity and specificity of the optimal cutoff values of ESR for the prediction of pneumonia, intensive care needs, and mortality and compared these with values for CRP.

Results: Of patients, 346 (70.2%) had pneumonia, 98 (19.9%) required intensive care, 183 (37.1%) required oxygen support, and 62 (12.6%) died. ESR data were obtained for 278 patients. Among patients, 80.2% had ESR above 20 mm/h, with a median value of 53 (interquartile range: 49). ESR was higher among those with pneumonia (p < 0.001), requiring oxygen (p < 0.001), and requiring intensive care (p=0.003) compared to those without these, and in exitus patients (p=0.043) compared to survivors. Logistic regression analysis identified that ESR did not impact mortality. ROC analysis found the AUC, cutoff, sensitivity, and specificity results of ESR for pneumonia were 0.827, 37 mm/h, 77%, and 78%; for intensive care were 0.625, 50 mm/h, 74%, and 52; and for mortality were 0.606, 51 mm/h, 71%, and 49%, respectively. However, ROC analysis values for CRP were superior to ESR for all these categories.

Conclusion: ESR increased in COVID-19 patients in the presence of pneumonia and severe disease; however, it was not prognostic. Sensitivity and specificity values for pneumonia, intensive care requirements, and mortality were lower than those for CRP.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
ROC curves for the prediction of pneumonia by sedimentation and CRP.
Figure 2
Figure 2
ROC curves for the prediction of mortality by sedimentation and CRP.
Figure 3
Figure 3
ROC curves for the prediction of intensive care needs by sedimentation and CRP.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. COVID-19 Dashboard by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University (JHU) https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html.
    1. Henry B. M., de Oliveira M. H. S., Benoit S., Plebani M., Lippi G. Hematologic, biochemical and immune biomarker abnormalities associated with severe illness and mortality in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): a meta-analysis. Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine . 2020;58(7):1021–1028. - PubMed
    1. Pourbagheri-Sigaroodi A., Bashash D., Fateh F., Abolghasemi H. Laboratory findings in COVID-19 diagnosis and prognosis. Clinica Chimica Acta . 2020;510 - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bastug A., Bodur H., Erdogan S., et al. Clinical and laboratory features of COVID-19: predictors of severe prognosis. International Immunopharmacology . 2020;88 doi: 10.1016/j.intimp.2020.106950.106950 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Lippi G., Plebani M. Laboratory abnormalities in patients with COVID-2019 infection. Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine . 2020;58(7):1131–1134. doi: 10.1515/cclm-2020-0198. - DOI - PubMed