Predictive value of immature granulocyte count and other inflammatory parameters for disease severity in COVID‐19 patients

[LANGUAGE= "English"] INTRODUCTION: This study was designed to compare the immature granulocyte (IG) count, IG-to-lymphocyte ratio (IGLR), complete blood count (CBC) values, and inflammatory parameters of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), C-reactive protein (CRP), ferritin level, and CRP-to-albumin ratio (CAR) measured at hospital admission in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and non-COVID-19 patients and to compare these parameters between subgroups according to disease severity. In addition, these parameters were evaluated for predictive value related to the severity of COVID‐19.METHODS: The data of adult patients admitted with a suspected COVID-19 infection confirmed with real-time polymerase chain reaction testing of nasal and pharyngeal swab specimens were included in this retrospective study. Outpatient COVID-19-positive patients were enrolled in the mild group, hospitalized patients were classified in the moderate group, and patients admitted to the intensive care unit were categorized in the severe group.RESULTS: A total of 1213 COVID-19-positive patients and 1034 COVID-19-negative patients were included in the study. The IGLR, NLR, PLR, CRP, CAR, and ferritin levels were significantly higher, and the leukocyte, IG, neutrophil, lymphocyte, monocyte, basophil, and eosinophil levels were significantly lower in the COVID-19-positive group than the COVID-19-negative group (p