D-dimer levels and lymphocyte counts as prognostic and predictive factors in patients with COVID-19

Objective: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is characterized by high fever, sudden developing respiratory distress, and radiological findings failing to respond to conventional treatments. The purpose of this study is to identify the association of D-dimer levels and lymphocyte counts with poor prognosis and to predict the clinical course in patients with COVID-19. Methods: A total of 118 hospitalized adult patients diagnosed with COVID-19 were included in the study. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) COVID-19 treatment guidelines, patients were divided into two groups with severe disease (n= 26) and non-severe (n= 92) disease. Detected at the time of diagnosis, D-dimer levels and lymphocyte counts were compared between severe and non-severe COVID-19 patient groups. Distinctive performance analysis of these values was performed, and cut-off values were determined. Results: The mean age of patients was 62 ± 7 years (range 42-80 years), and 63 (53.4 %) were female. The lymphocyte count was lower (p