Relationship between Pre-Existing Conditions in Covid-19 Patients and Inflammation Download PDF

COVID-19 is characterized by a strong inflammatory response leading to specific changes in the immune system cell counts. In this study, the following biomarkers from the laboratory data of COVID-19 patients have been analyzed: white blood cells (WBC), neutrophils, lymphocytes, monocytes, eosinophils, basophils, C-reactive protein, and glycemia. Various comparisons, correlations, and ratios between these inflammatory biomarkers have been performed to assess the link between pre-existing conditions and the various blood markers, as well as the disease severity. WBC, neutrophils, C-reactive protein, and glycemia had high levels in more than 60-70% of the patients, although diabetic patients had even higher glycemia levels (p<0.05). A high correlation was found between WBC and neutrophils which dominate the WBC count, and a more moderate one between lymphocytes and monocytes. Lymphocyte, monocyte, and basophil counts were lower in patients with comorbidities in general, while lymphocytes and monocytes were also lower in the subset of patients with diabetes in particular (p<0.05). The means and medians of all the aforementioned hematological parameters have been calculated for each subset of pre-existing conditions.