Study to determine the correlation of platelet-lymphocyte ratio in COVID 19 positive and negative severe acute respiratory infections cases

Background: Severity of COVID 19 disease is related to the systemic inflammatory response triggered by the respiratory virus. Hematological alterations triggered by inflammation can be used as a marker to predict the severity of COVID 19 infection.Methods: 155 patients of severe acute respiratory infections (SARI) defined by World Health Organization (WHO) criteria of which 65 were COVID positive and 90 COVID negative were taken for the study. Demographic profile of the population and platelet count, lymphocyte count and platelet lymphocyte ratio was compared between COVID 19 positive and negative SARI cases using appropriate descriptive statistics. Correlation analysis done for the same parameters between severe and moderate COVID 19 SARI cases.Results: Median platelet count in COVID positive group (2.47 L) was lower than that of COVID negative group (2.65 L) and was not statistically significant between 2 groups. Median lymphocyte count in COVID positive group (651) was lower compared to the negative group (1250) and difference was statistically significant. PLR in COVID positive group was higher (353) than COVID negative group (198) and was statistically significant (p value 0.00). PLR was higher in severe COVID disease compare to moderate disease but difference was not statistically significant. No significant correlation was found in platelet count, lymphocyte count in moderate and severe COVID positive SARI cases.Conclusions: Lower lymphocyte counts was observed in SARI caused by COVID 19 infection than other causes of SARI. No significant correlation was found in platelet count between COVID positive and negative SARI cases. PLR was significantly higher in COVID positive SARI cases as compared to COVID negative SARI cases. Platelet lymphocyte ratio (PLR) was higher in severe COVID disease when compared to moderate disease but levels did not reach statistical significance.

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Role of mean platelet volume and platelet/ lymphocyte ratio in assessing the severity of acute respiratory infections in children

Romanian Journal of Pediatrics ◽

10.37897/rjp.2020.2.10 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 69 (2) ◽

pp. 128-133

Author(s):

Diana Madalina Chiheri ◽

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Maria Oana Sasaran ◽

Lorena Elena Melit ◽

◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mean Platelet Volume ◽

Respiratory Infections ◽

Acute Respiratory Infections ◽

Platelet Volume ◽

Lymphocyte Ratio ◽

Platelet Lymphocyte Ratio

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Mesenchymal Stem Cells: The Secret Children’s Weapons against the SARS-CoV-2 Lethal Infection

Applied Sciences ◽

10.3390/app11041696 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (4) ◽

pp. 1696

Author(s):

Mario Giosuè Balzanelli ◽

Pietro Distratis ◽

Orazio Catucci ◽

Angelo Cefalo ◽

Rita Lazzaro ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Stem Cells ◽

Mesenchymal Stem Cells ◽

Respiratory Infections ◽

Acute Respiratory Infections ◽

Unusual Event ◽

Inflammatory Processes ◽

Life Threatening ◽

Severe Acute Respiratory Infections ◽

Novel Coronavirus

Due to the promising effects of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in the treatment of various diseases, this commentary aimed to focus on the auxiliary role of MSCs to reduce inflammatory processes of acute respiratory infections caused by the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Since early in 2020, COVID-19, a consequence of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has rapidly affected millions of people world-wide. The SARS-CoV-2 infection in children appears to be an unusual event. Despite the high number of affected adult and elderly, children and adolescents remained low in amounts, and marginally touched. Based on the promising role of cell therapy and regenerative medicine approaches in the treatment of several life-threatening diseases, it seems that applying MSCs cell-based approaches can also be a hopeful strategy for improving subjects with severe acute respiratory infections caused by COVID-19.

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Significance of nucleic acid positive anal swab in COVID-19 patients

Open Medicine ◽

10.1515/med-2021-0236 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (1) ◽

pp. 332-337

Author(s):

Xiaoli Li ◽

Lei Rong ◽

Peiyan Zhang ◽

Jian Xu ◽

Yan Rong

Keyword(s):

Platelet Count ◽

Clinical Symptoms ◽

Influence Factors ◽

Recovery Phase ◽

Negative Group ◽

Pharyngeal Swab ◽

Positive Group ◽

Oral Transmission ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Anal Swab

Abstract Aim We compared the clinical characteristics of patients with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) positive and negative anal swabs during coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) recovery and investigated the clinical significance and influence factors of anal swab detection. Methods This study retrospectively analyzed 23 moderate COVID-19 patients in the recovery phase. They were divided into anal swab positive group (n = 13) (negative for pharyngeal swabs but positive for anal swabs) and anal swab negative group (n = 10) (negative for pharyngeal and anal swabs). The epidemiology, clinical symptoms, time of pharyngeal swabs turning negative, and laboratory results were compared. Results The time of pharyngeal swabs turning negative in the anal swab positive group was 6 (5–8.5) days, significantly longer than that in the anal swab negative group (1 (1–4.25) days), P = 0.0002). The platelet count of the anal swab positive group was significantly lower than that of the anal swab negative group (198 (135–235) × 109/L vs 240.5 (227–264.75) × 109/L, P = 0.0248). No significant difference was observed between the two groups in other variables. Conclusions The time of pharyngeal swab turning negative in anal swab positive patients is longer than that in anal swab negative patients. The platelet count can be used as an indicator for viral infection evaluation. For patients with a longer time of pharyngeal swabs turning negative, the combined testing of the anal swab and platelet counts may help to avoid pharyngeal swab false negatives, premature discharge, and the possibility of fecal-oral transmission.

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