Age and d-NLR, factors affecting the prediction of mortality in COVID-19

More than two million people have died from the novel coronavirus outbreak in about one year. The aim of this study was to evaluate the values associated with white blood cells counts (lymphocytes, neutrophils, NLR and d-NLR) and their relationship with mortality in hospitalized patients with covid-19.

Preliminary data of 807 covid-19 hospitalized patients were extracted using the health information system of a referral hospital for covid-19 in Tehran city, during the first four months of the epidemic in Iran. Data was analyzed after preparation.

Comparison between discharged and deceased patients showed significant differences in terms of five factors including age, white blood cell count, neutrophil, NLR, and d-NLR (p<0.001). Stepwise regression analysis showed that two factors of age over 66.5 years and d-NLR above 2.7 as the predictors of disease severity, which increased the risk of death in hospitalized patients by 4.3 and 3.7 times, respectively.

The clinical course of covid-19 may be related to the number of immune cells. The findings of the present study showed evidence that patient age and d-NLR levels could be predictors of improvement or mortality in hospitalized patients with covid-19.