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. 2025 Mar 21;44(2):250-255.
doi: 10.5937/jomb0-49377.

Gender differences in correlation of biochemical parameters with the severity of covid pneumonia and the need for oxygen/mechanical support

Jelena Jankovic  1 , Mihailo Stjepanovic  1 , Nikola Maric  1 , Slobodan Belic  1
Affiliations

Gender differences in correlation of biochemical parameters with the severity of covid pneumonia and the need for oxygen/mechanical support

Jelena Jankovic et al. J Med Biochem. .

Abstract
in English, Serbian

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic caused global medical, economic and social problems. High infection rates, heterogeneous presentation, lack of previous data, and lack of standardized treatment led to a need for further analysis to prepare for potential new pandemics. We analyzed any possible correlation between gender, laboratory findings, disease severity and the need for oxygen or mechanical ventilation support.

Methods: 99 patients with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 virus infection enrolled. Baseline characteristics that included age, sex, smoking history, BMI, oxygen therapy or mechanical ventilation support needs were recorded. Type and severity of radiological findings determined by chest CT scan.

Results: The majority of our patients were over 61 years old (58.6%), male (57.6%), and had severe radiological findings (bilateral pneumonia 29.3%, ARDS 35.4%), with only 20.2% had not required any oxygen supplementation. Regarding gender and laboratory findings, men have shown statistically significant higher values of CRP, lymphocytes, LDH and ferritin (96.4 vs 87.1, p=0.014; 1.17 vs 0.84, p=0.048; 674.8 vs 609.1, p=0.031; 1263 vs 578.4, p=0.001, respectfully). Severe radiological findings showed a positive correlation with the need for HFNC and/or (N)IMV (p=0.021 and p=0.032. respectfully), as well as with higher values of WBC, LDH and ferritin (p=0.042, p=0.035 and p=0.017, respectively).

Conclusions: There is a difference between the presentation of the disease and analyzed laboratory markers between sexes. The difference is most likely multifactorial and should require further research in order to discover other risk and prognostic factors.

Uvod: Pandemija KOVID-19 je izazvala globalni medicinski, ekonomski i socijalni problem. Visoka stopa zaraze, heterogena klinička slika, nedostatak prethodnih podataka i nepostojanje standardizovanog protokola lečenja su doveli do potrebe za daljom analizom, kako bi se ovi problem prevazišli u slučaju potencijalne nove pandemije. Analizirali smo moguću korelaciju između pola, laboratorijskih nalaza i tezine bolesti sa potrebom za kiseonikom ili pušački status.

Metode: Uključeno je 99 pacijenata sa potvrđenom infekcijom virusom SARS-CoV-2. Zabeležene su osnovne karakteristike koje su uključivale starost, pol, pušački status, BMI, terapiju kiseonikom ili potrebu za mehaničkom ventilacionom potporom. Vrsta i težina radiografskog nalaza utvrđena je skenerom grudnog koša.

Rezultati: Većina naših pacijenata je bila starija od 61 godine (58,6%), muškog pola (57,6%) i imali su teške radiografske manifestacije KOVID-19 infekcije (bilateralna pneumonija 29,3%, ARDS 35,4%), a samo 20,2% nije zahtevalo dodatnu primenu kiseonične terapije. U pogledu pola i laboratorijskih nalaza, muškarci su pokazali statistički značajno veće vrednosti CRP, limfocita, LDH i feritina (96,4 vs 87,1, p=0,014; 1,17 vs 0,84, p=0,048; 674,8 vs 609,1, p=0,031; 1263 vs 578,4, p=0,001). Teži radiološki nalaz pokazao je pozitivnu korelaciju sa potrebom za HFNC i/ili (N)IMV (p=0,021 i p=0,032), kao i sa višim vrednostima leukocita, LDH i feritina (p=0,042, p=0,035 i p=0,017).

Zaključak: Prisutne su razlike između kliničke manifestacije bolesti i analiziranih laboratorijskih markera između polova. Razlika je najverovatnije višefaktorna i zahteva dalja istraživanja kako bi se otkrili drugi prognostički i faktori rizika.

Keywords: COVID-19; biochemical results; gender; mechanical ventilation; oxygen therapy.

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Conflict of interest statement

All the authors declare that they have no conflict of interest in this work.Conflict of Interest: The authors stated that they have no conflicts of interest regarding the publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. The distribution of patients according to age.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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