ABSTRACT
Aim: The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between immature granulocyte (IG) counts and the severity of the disease and to evaluate the effectiveness of IG in predicting the poor outcomes in polymerase chain reaction-confirmed Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) cases. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted prospectively and observationally at the emergency department. Patients were divided into three groups according to the clinical severity indicators such as mild, moderate and severe. The IG level was measured from the whole blood samples taken at the admission to the emergency department. Intensive care unit admission, ventilation support, and death within the first 28 days after the admission were evaluated as composite outcomes. Results: The study group consisted of 203 adults, of whom 91 (44.8%) were women. According to the severity of the illness, 40 patients (19.7%) were classified as mild, 67 patients (33.0%) as moderate, and 96 patients (47.3%) as severe. When comparing IG levels between the groups, there was a statistically significant difference between the mild and severe groups (p=0.047) and between the moderate and severe disease groups (p=0.036). There was no statistically significant relationship between IG counts and the composite outcome (p > 0.05) Conclusion: The IG level, which could be measured faster than other laboratory tests without any additional cost, could be used for the determination of the clinical severity of patients with COVID-19. However, we conclude that this parameter is not effective in determining poor outcomes during the admission.
ABSTRACT
Aim: Recent research have shown that immature granulocytes (IG) can be utilized to predict severe infection, inflammation, and sepsis. As a result, the ability of IG levels to predict the severity of severe COVID-19 and its association with prognosis were studied in our study. Material and Mthods: A total of 317 patients diagnosed with severe COVID-19 in the emergency department were analyzed retrospectively. IGC and IG% levels were compared statistically between patient groups (survivors and non-survivors, those who received and did not get mechanical ventilation (MV) assistance, patients who required and did not require vasopressors, and hospital stays >=10 and <10 days). Result(s): When compared to patients who survived but did not get treatment, non-survivors who got MV and vasopressor support had substantially higher IGC and IG% values (for all p<0.001). Additionally, it was shown that the IG% of patients with hospital stays of >=10 days was substantially greater than that of patients with hospital stays of <10 days (p<0.001). While the IG% cut-off value was >0.45, it reached 75.5% sensitivity, 81.9% specificity, 87.6% NPV and 66.4% PPV for predicting mortality (AUC:0.86, p<0.001). Discussion(s): IG levels are a low-cost, easily accessible, and strong marker that may be used to predict mortality and prognosis in COVID-19 patients.Copyright © 2023, Derman Medical Publishing. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
Background and Aim: Although vaccination practices continue at a fast pace around the world, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) still threatens people's lives. In this study, we aimed to determine the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in patients who do not have the typical symptoms of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), but only present with dyspepsia, and to investigate the role of immature granulocytes in the early diagnosis of these patients. Material and Methods: Adult and pediatric patients suffering from dyspepsia were included in the study. The patients were divided into two groups, ''positive'' and ''negative'', based on their SARS-CoV-2 polymerase chain reaction test results. Immature granulocyte count (IG), immature granulocyte percentage (IG%), C-reactive protein (CRP), and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) values were recorded. Results: A total of 238 patients, including 25 (10.5%) pediatric and 213 (89.5%) adult patients, were included in the study. A total of 2 (8%) pediatric patients and 17 (7.9%) adult patients tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. The IG, IG%, and CRP parameters were significantly higher in the SARS-CoV-2-positive patients compared to the SARS-CoV-2-negative patients. The optimal cut-off value predictive of COVID-19 infection was determined to be ≥0.650 (sensitivity: 52.6% and specificity: 95.5%, p = 0.001) for IG%. Conclusions: It should be noted that dyspepsia may also be a COVID-19 symptom. IG% values, which can be determined with a hemogram test, a cheap and easily accessible test, may be a warning in the early detection of patients who do not have the typical symptoms of COVID-19.