Prognostic Value of Erythrogram Indicators and C-Reactive Protein Levels in Predicting Outcomes of Patients with Coronavirus Disease 2019

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has posed unprecedented challenges to global public health, highlighting the importance of prognostic biomarkers in critically ill patients. The oxidative stress developed in COVID-19 is associated with impairment in various human organs and systems, and it is related to erythrocyte injury, leading to an elevation in red cell distribution width (RDW) and systemic inflammation. This study aims to assess the prognostic value of erythrogram indicators and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels in 91 intensive care unit-admitted COVID-19 patients, categorized into survivor patients (discharge group) and non-survivor patients (death group). The results were presented using descriptive statistics and the Mann-Whitney test. The most severe cases of respiratory failure in which the patients did not survive showed higher red cell distribution width (RDW) and lower values of red blood cell count, hemoglobin, and hematocrit. RDW may be an important indicator of mortality, as demonstrated by the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Furthermore, this increase in RDW is correlated with elevated CRP levels, another important clinical outcome for these patients. In conclusion, elevated RDW and CRP levels at admission may be reliable predictors of unfavorable outcomes, emphasizing the utility of these indicators in clinical assessments of COVID-19 patients.