Role of Neutrophil Lymphocyte Ratio (NLR) in Predicting Disease Severity in Covid -19

Year 2022, Volume: 4 Issue: 1, 6 - 12, 29.01.2022

Khadija Asif , Farhat Abbas

https://doi.org/10.46310/tjim.1011041

Cited By: 1

Abstract

Background: To evaluate the role of NLR as a prognostic indicator for severe COVID-19, due to its positive correlation with disease severity, easy accessibility and low cost.
Material and Methods: A multicenter retrospective observational study was conducted in COVID-19 wards of two tertiary care hospitals of Faisalabad city, Pakistan, treating COVID-19 patients between May 2021 - July 2021. A predesigned proforma was filled to collect the data. SPSS 21 was used for the statistical analysis of this research.
Results: A record of 100 COVID-19 patients admitted between May 2021 - July 2021, fulfilling the inclusion criteria was included in the study. All patients were divided into two groups. The non-severe group included 37 patients while the severe group included 63 patients. The mean age of the study population was 56 years with male predominance (63%). Overall, 50% of patients in the non-severe group and 71% in the severe group had some co-existent comorbidity. Fever and cough were the most commonly reported symptoms in both groups while shortness of breath was more widely reported in the severe group (74.2%). The mean NLR in the non-severe group was 4 as compared to 12 in the severe group.
Conclusions: Higher neutrophil lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is associated with severe COVID -19 and can be used as an effective tool to predict the progression of the non-severe disease to severe disease.

Keywords

Covid-19, Corona Virus, SARS- COV 2, Neutrophil/Lymphocyte ratio

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