Laboratory findings predictive of critical illness in hospitalized COVID-19 patients in Tunisia [version 1; peer review: awaiting peer review]

Background COVID-19 disease has spread rapidly worldwide, causing high mortality. Accessible biomarkers capable of early identification of patients at risk of severe form are needed in clinical practice. The aim of the study was to determine the biological markers that predict a critical condition. Methods Retrospective study including patients with confirmed COVID-19 hospitalized between September 2020 and June 2021. The primary endpoint was progression to critical status within 7 days from admission. We defined two groups: Critical group: Patients who developed a critical condition or died or transferred to the ICU before or at 7 th day. Non-critical group: Patients who remained in non-critical respiratory status until 7 th day or discharged before or at 7 th day. Results Our study included 456 patients, with a sex ratio of 1.32 and an average age of 62 years. At the 7 th day of hospitalization, 115 (25.2%) patients were in the critical group and 341 (74.8%) patients were in the non-critical group. The univariate logistic regression indicated that laboratory findings between non-critical and critical groups showed that C-reactive protein (CRP) (p=0.047), D-Dimer (p=0.011), creatinine (0.026), creatine kinase (p=0.039), lactate dehydrogenase (p=0.04), and troponin (p=0.001) were all higher among patients in critical group. However, lymphocyte (p