Pattern of ABO and Rh blood groups distribution among COVID-19 patients

ABSTRACT

Objective: This study was conducted to find out the pattern of blood group distribution among Covid-19 patients in this part of world. Study Design: cross-sectional study Place and Duration of Study This study was conducted at the department of Pathology, Margalla Hospital Taxila from April to June during first phase of Corona followed by second wave in October to December 2020. Materials and Methods: In this study, 3936 participants were included using non-purposive consecutive sampling technique, who were tested for COVID 19 by real-time reverse RT-PCR. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 26. Frequencies for different blood groups were calculated. Cross tabulation was done for RT-PCR positive and negative blood groups and chi square test of significance was applied. Results: Out of 3936, 436 (11.1%) tested positive by RT-PCR. Majority of males tested positive (64%, p=.001). Most frequent blood group among covid patients was B (38.7%, p= .001), followed by O (29.3%), A (22.7%) and AB (9.1%). Out of total 436, 399 (91.5%) were Rh positives. Conclusion: Blood group B and Rh positives were more frequent among study population;however, it doesn’t conclude that these blood groups increase susceptibility to covid infection.