D-dimer as a predictive and prognostic marker among COVID-19 patients

OBJECTIVES: To examine D-dimer, coagulation profile, and platelet count among patients hospitalized with coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) and compare them to findings from non-COVID-19 subjects. METHODS: The participants in this retrospective hospital-based observational study design included 112 confirmed diagnosed with COVID-19 who were admitted to King Khaled Hospital, Najran, Saudi Arabia, and another 112 non-COVID-19 subjects as a comparative group. Laboratory investigations, demographic and clinical records were obtained from participants’ electronic indexed medical records. Coronavirus disease-19 diagnosis was confirmed according to positive real time polymerase chain reaction assay carried out at the hospital’s central laboratory, where samples were extracted from a nasopharyngeal swab. Pneumonia related to COVID-19 is classified as critical, severe, moderate, mild, and asymptomatic whereas thrombocytopenia was marked when the platelet count was <150.00×10(9)/L. Suitable statistical analysis was applied to determine possible differences between the findings from the 2 groups. RESULTS: The D-dimer and activated partial thromboplastin clotting time mean values were significantly elevated (p<0.001). The international normalized ratio and platelet count mean values confirmed a significant decrease (p<0.001). Thrombocytopenia was found 9 times in COVID-19 higher than in the non-COVID-19. D-dimer and prothrombin time mean values increased significantly among the COVID-19 patients with all patterns of symptoms on admission (p<0.001). CONCLUSION: D-dimer mean values increased significantly in deceased COVID-19 and in hospitalized intensive care unit (ICU) wards patients (p<0.001), indicating a potential predictive and prognostic severity marker, particularly among COVID-19 patients in the ICU.