STUDY OF INFLAMMATORY MARKERS IN HYPOXIC COVID 19 PATIENTS AND CORRELATION WITH DISEASE SEVERITY

Background: COVID-19 is global pandemic affecting mainly a respiratory system and causing hypoxemia in the majority of those been infected. In our study, we aimed to correlate the inflammatory markers with severity of hypoxemia and predicting the significant markers of disease severity.

Aims and Objectives:To correlate the inflammatory markers with degree of hypoxemia and To determine the inflammatory markers useful in predicting the disease severity.

Materials and Methods:A cross-sectional observational study was conducted in the month of may 2021 in tertiary care hospital chinnaoutpalli near Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh. The 296 patients diagnosed as COVID-19 positive by real-time Polymerase chain reaction and admitted in our hospital requiring oxygen (hypoxemic) were included. These patients were divided into supplemental oxygen group (SuO2 Group) and non invasive ventilation group (NIV group) and inflammatory markers among these groups were compared.

Results: Out of 296 hypoxemic patients, 148 were in ward, requiring SuO2,148 were in ICU requiring NIV. There was significant differences in mean D-dimer (p=0.001), and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (p=0.012),among NIV and SuO2 group .There was no significant difference in CRP, ferritin.

Conclusion: The inflammatory markers are a good guide for predicting the hypoxemia and disease severity. The results concluded Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte ratio, D-Dimer were effective biomarkers in predicting a severity and prognosis of COVID- 19 patients, but could not establish significant association of serum Ferritin, CRP with disease severity.