ABSTRACT
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic continues devastating effects on healthcare systems. Such a crisis calls for an urgent need to develop a risk stratification tool. The present chapter aimed to identify laboratory and clinical correlates of adverse outcomes in patients with COVID-19. To this end, we conducted a systematic evaluation of studies that investigated laboratory abnormalities in patients with COVID-19 and compared i. patients with a severe form of disease and patients with a non-severe form of the disease, ii. patients who were in critical condition and patients who were not in critical condition, and iii. patients who survived and patients who died. We included 54 studies in the data synthesis. Compared to patients with a non-severe form of COVID-19, patients who had a severe form of disease revealed higher values for white blood cells (WBC), polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN), total bilirubin, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), creatinine, troponin, procalcitonin, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and D-dimer. By contrast, platelet count, lymphocyte count, and albumin levels were decreased in patients with a severe form of COVID-19. Also, patients with a severe phenotype of disease were more likely to have diabetes, chronic heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), cerebrovascular disease, hypertension, chronic kidney disease (CKD), and malignancy. Compared to patients who survived, patients who died had higher WBC, PMN, total bilirubin, ALT, procalcitonin, IL-6, creatinine, PT, lymphocyte count, platelet count, and albumin. Also, non-survivors revealed a higher prevalence of diabetes, chronic heart disease, COPD, cerebrovascular disease, and CKD. Meta-analyses identified several laboratory parameters that might help the prediction of severe, critical, and lethal phenotypes of COVID-19. These parameters correlate with the immune system function, inflammation, coagulation, and liver and kidney function.