The Association of Lymphocyte count, CRP, D-Dimer, and LDH with Severe Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): A Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Background: The rapid progression of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and its increasing burden on health systems necessitate the  identification of parameters of severe infection to help in monitoring, prognoses and development of treatment algorithms.

Objectives: This review aims to investigate the association of lymphocyte count, CRP, LDH, and D-Dimer with the severity of COVID-19.

Methods: This review was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines.  The databases of MEDLINE/PubMed, WHO-Virtual Health Library (VHL), and ScienceDirect were used for the systematic search. Random effects model was used to estimate the pooled standardized mean differences (SMD) with the corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI), using OpenMeta Analyst software.

Results: A total of 11 studies, with 2437 COVID-19 patients, which fulfilled the eligibility criteria were included in the meta-analysis. The analysis  revealed that lymphocyte count was significantly lower in patients with the severe form of COVID-19 (SMD = - 1.025, P value <.001). Also, the analysis of SMD showed that patients with severe COVID-19 have a significantly higher serum levels of CRP (SMD = 3.363, P value <.001), D-Dimer (SMD = 1.073, P value <.001), and LDH (SMD = 3.345, P value <.001).

Conclusion: Low lymphocyte count and high levels of CRP, LDH, and D-Dimer are associated with severe COVID-19. These laboratory markers could be used as clinical indicators of worsening illness and poor prognosis of COVID-19.

Keywords: COVID-19, lymphocyte count, CRP, D-Dimer, LDH, Meta-analysis