Hematological Parameters in Patients with Covid-19: Age and Gender Aspects

During the pandemic of COVID-19, the availability of robust laboratory data for patient triage is of paramount importance. This study aimed to investigate the hematological profile of patients with COVID-19 at an early stage of the disease who were admitted to the hospital. We used the retrospective analysis of hemograms of 332 patients with COVID-19 to calculate the average values of white blood cell variables, the neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR)1, and the systemic immune-inflammation index (SII). At the stage of hospital admission, the most typical change in the blood picture of patients with COVID-19 was a decrease in the absolute count of lymphocytes and eosinophils, especially in patients with severe and extremely severe disease. High absolute neutrophil counts frequently occurred in severe and critically ill patients, too. The majority of patients had a high level of NLR and SII. As a whole, high neutrophil count and lymphocytopenia were common among males, and a pronounced age-dependent increase in cases of neutrophilia and eosinopenia was observed for females. The clinical value of individual hematological parameters and/or their combination varies significantly depending on the gender and age of patients, which predetermines a differentiated approach to build a robust scale for diagnosis and disease progression assessment.