ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to detect the effect of COVID-19 on lymphocyte and platelet parameters among Sudanese patients admitted to Intensive Care unit (ICU) and emergency (ER). PATIENTS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional study was carried out on a total of 787 Sudanese individuals (487 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 300 apparently healthy individuals as controls, in duration between April 2020 to December 2020). Platelets (PLTs) and platelet indices, mean platelet volume (MPV), platelet distribution width (PDW), plateletcrit (PCT) and platelet larger cell ratio (PLCR) were investigated as part of the complete blood count (CBC) for the case and control group. Also, the neutrophil lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet lymphocyte ratio (PLR) were calculated, and the results were statistically analyzed by SPSS version 21. RESULTS: The severity of the disease was also affected by the patient's age: 262 COVID-19 cases admitted to ICU were over 50 years old, compared to only four patients in the mild group. Regarding hematological parameters, the absolute lymphocyte count, PLTs, MPV, PDW, and P-LCR were significantly different between cases and control groups (p-values = 0.000, 0.002, 0.000, 0.000, and 0.000, respectively). PLR and NLR levels were found to be significantly higher as disease severity increased; p-values = 0.000 and 0.000, respectively. The study also demonstrated that lymphopenia was associated with severe COVID-19 infection (in 93% of ICU patients, 59.9% of ER, and 9% of the mild group), while thrombocytopenia was detected only among 30.8% of ICU patients. CONCLUSIONS: Lymphopenia and thrombocytopenia are associated with severe COVID-19 infection. NLR and PLR were markedly increased with COVID-19.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Lymphopenia , Thrombocytopenia , Blood Platelets , Cross-Sectional Studies , Humans , Intensive Care Units , Lymphocytes , Mean Platelet Volume , Middle Aged , Neutrophils , Platelet Count , Retrospective Studies , Thrombocytopenia/epidemiologyABSTRACT
Background: Novel (COVID-19) has pushed educational institutions to learn through online resources, and the significance of e-learning has indeed become a necessity, current study was aimed to ascertain students' perceptions on the implementation of e-learning and remote exams at Collage of Applied Medical Sciences, Prince Sattam Bin Abdul-Aziz University-KSA. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in August 2020 on 242 students from the faculty of Applied Medical Sciences at Prince Sattam University. A well-constructed questionnaire was designed and administered online (via Google online survey and distributed via E. mail, and WhatsApp groups) to students, it had 22 Closed-ended questions altogether in the following items, which were divided into five domains. The answers were graded on the 5-point Liken scale from 1 to 5. The SPSS software (version 26) was used for data analysis. Result: From the students (242) participating in the study, a majority (63.7%) was from the Medical Laboratory Sciences department, (45.9%) used their laptops, 69% had a negative impression towards E. learning. The perception was converging on whether the E-learning method helped them understand the scientific material smoothly and clearly;21.1%, 22.3%, 21.5%, and 19.8% were agreed, neutral, disagreed, and strongly disagreed, respectively. 55.9 % of students agreed that remote exam questions are appropriate and comprehensive. Conclusion: Although online learning is regarded as less social contact, lack of social presence, communications synchronization, and not preferable by students;online learning definitely has some positive effects on students, it is a crucial platform in crisis periods and also for people who are unable to complete their studies in person.