Peripheral blood abnormalities in patients with Covid 19 hospitalized in the pneumology department of Marrakesh University Hospital

In December 2019, Coronavirus 2019 due to SARS CoV 2 was first discovered in Wuhan, China and then rapidly spread to more than 200 countries. Until now, there is no specific vaccine and no effective treatment, so it is very important from a clinical point of view to predict the evolution of the disease. Thus, in order to further analyze the value of the clinical application of blood count parameters in the diagnosis or management of COVID-19 (Coronavirus disease 2019) patients. Peripheral blood abnormalities of 102 COVID-19 patients hospitalized in the pneumology department of CHU Mohamed VI in Marrakesh were analyzed retrospectively and compared to SARS CoV 2 negative patients.  Results: WBCs in the patient group were 8.32 ×109/L vs 5.85 ×109/L, p<0.001, an elevated neutrophil count (5.33 ×109/L vs 3.27 ×109/L, p<0. 001), a lower hemoglobin concentration (13.5 [10.6-16.37] g/dl vs 14.8 [13.5-15.6] g/dl, p<0.001), and a higher Neutrophils-to-lymphocytes ratio (2.63 vs 1.52, p<0.001). The severe cases had a higher white blood cell count (14,279 (±6,564) vs. 7,471 (±2,609) ×109/L, p<0.001), a much higher neutrophil count (12,547 (±6,698) vs. 4,468 (±1,882) ×109/L, p<0.001). Lymphopenia (0.851 (±0.406) vs. 2.138 (±1.103) ×109/L, p<0.001), NLR (14.74 vs. 2.08) and Platelets-to-lymphocytes ratio (145 vs. 117) were higher than the non-severe COVID-19 cases. Conclusion: In light of these data, we deduce that regular monitoring of blood counts should be involved to judge the progression and prognosis of COVID-19.