ABSTRACT
Introduction: critically ill COVID-19 patients are known to have a coagulopathy characterized by increased levels of D-dimer (DD) associated to a thrombotic risk and a significant increase in mortality. However, it is not known whether the associated COVID-19 coagulopathy is due to a prothrombotic state or is caused by endothelial dysfunction and inflammation. Aim of our study, was to better characterize the hypercoagulability state of COVID-19 patients using Thrombin Generation analyser (ST Genesia, Diagnostica Stago, Asnieres, France). Method(s): a total of 46 non-critically ill hospitalized COVID-19 patients were compared to 19 critically ill COVID-19 patients utilizing calibrated automated thrombography and other biochemical, hematological and coagulation parameters. Result(s): critically ill patients had a significant increase in C reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), prothrombin time (PT), DD and a significant decrease in lymphocytes count. No significant differences in Thrombin Generation Test (TGT) parameters were observed between the two groups of patients with the only exception of the "Lag Time" parameter. Discussion(s): the obtained results confirmed increased levels of DD and PT in critically ill COVID-19 patients. Of note, disease severity did not cause an increase in Thrombin Generation when compared to non-critically COVID-19 patients. The significantly prolonged Lag Time in critically ill COVID-19 patients without decreased endogenous thrombin potential suggests an hypocoagulability state in these patients. The relevance of this finding is uncertain and may appear counterintuitive since these patients are expected to have a hypercoagulability status, and requires further research. Copyright © 2022 Biomedia. All rights reserved.