ABSTRACT
Introduction: A clinically significant variant of SARS-CoV-2 was identified in the UK in December 2020 and was designated VOC‐202012/01 (lineage B.1.1.7) on 14 December 2020. Our study aimed to evaluate the lineage B.1.1.7 prevalence over time and demographic, hematological, coagulation, inflammation characteristics in hospitalized patients with B.1.1.7 during February-March 2021. Materials and Methods: Between 5 February and 20 March 2021, 182 inpatients with B.1.1.7 were included in this study. Bio-Speedy, SARS-CoV-2 Double Gene RT-qPCR (Bioeksen, Ístanbul, Türkiye) kit was used to diagnose COVID-19. Cycle threshold< 27 samples were taken into mutation study with Bio-Speedy SARS-CoV-2 Variant Plus kit. Results: Of the 5187 SARS-CoV-2 positive cases, 2288 (69.65%) were evaluated as variant B.1.1.7 positive. Throughout the study, the case number's daily increase rate was 8.78% in SARS CoV-2, 13.16% in B.1.1.7;the case number's doubling time was calculated as 7.9 days in SARS CoV-2 and 5.27 days in B.1.1.7. In ICU patients, hemoglobin (p< 0.001), platelet (p= 0.034) and lymphocyte (p< 0.001) levels were lower but neutrophil (p= 0.025), monocyte/lymphocyte ratio (MLR) (p= 0.002), neutrophil/lymphocyte (NLR) (p< 0.001) ratio and D-dimer (p= 0.008) levels were dedected higher than non-ICU patients. Conclusion: Our study demonstrated that the infectiousness of B.1.1.7 was higher than previous variants and became the dominant SARS-CoV-2 in six weeks in our region. Therefore, urgent and decisive measures should be taken to minimize morbidity and mortality associated with COVID-19. In addition, our findings indicate that first hematologic markers of the patients can be an important biomarker for the prognosis of COVID-19 disease.