Role of Complete Blood Count (CBC) Parameters as A Prognostic Assister in Management of Hospitalised COVID-19 Patients: Study from A Tertiary Health CareCentre

Background: Complete blood count (CBC) parameters has always been a very important and informative assessor in the diagnosis and management of infectious diseases. It is also a rapid, cheap and simple procedure without much inconvenience to patients. CBC parameters of COVID 19 patients recently have shown variations from normal CBC parameters as well as some new variations in comparison to other viral infections. The aim of our study is to observe the various CBC parameters of COVID 19 patients and assess them in the diagnosis and prognosis of disease. We also aimed to compare CBC parameters of ICU and non-ICU patients in order to assess the severity of the disease by an early and cost-effective method in order to handle the huge surge of COVID patients during the pandemic waves. Materials and Methods: CBC reports of around 500 hospitalised COVID-19 patients were examined which also included ICU patients from April 2021 to December 2022 that also included the huge second and a mild third wave also. Different parameters like TLC, DC, Platelet count, neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet to lymphocytes ratio (PLR) were observed and correlated with severity. Various CBC parameters were studied and comparison was done between COVID ward cases and ICU cases. Results: Total 500 CBCs were examined and correlated with normal range in CBC. Most (92%) of the patients showed neutrophilia along with lymphopenia. Eosinopenia was observed in 76% of patients. NLR was also higher in 92% of COVID-19 patients. Platelet count was lower in ICU patients (29%) as compared to ward patients (11%). PLR was also significantly high in ICU patients. Conclusion: Various CBC parameters can help in diagnosing COVID-19 patients and also can be adopted as a prognostic marker during management. Pandemic waves of COVID 19 brings a surge of patients with constraints in time and economy as well as for bed and ICU availabilities Hence, CBC parameters have a crucial role along with other inflammatory markers in assessing severity of COVID 19 patients and imply early interventions to bring down the death rates.