Biochemical Markers Associated with COVID-19 Disease Severity in a Tertiary Care Teaching Hospital

Aims and objectives: The coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has led to an urgent need for reliable biomarkers to identify disease severity. Infection with COVID-19 is rapidly spreading posing a serious threat to community health. This study aims to identify the most effective biomarker among C-reactive protein, procalcitonin, lactate dehydrogenase, and ferritin to predict disease severity. The routine biochemical markers (LFT, RFT, electrolytes, CKNAC, CKMB, blood glucose level) were also evaluated for correlation with disease severity. Materials and methods: The present study is retrospective type. The study protocol was approved by IEC. The levels of biochemical markers of admitted COVID-19 positive patients were analyzed after determining the normal distribution and their significance was determined by calculating the p value. The accuracy of the biomarkers [C-reactive protein (CRP), PCT, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and ferritin] was checked using ROC analysis. Results: Five hundred and ninety-one COVID-19 positive patients admitted to the hospital (from May 2020 to December 2020) were considered for the study. Out of these 231 (39.1%) were admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) and 360 (61%) were in-ward patients. The mean age of the study population was 50.39 ± 16.7, with ICU patients significantly older than non-ICU patients (p < 0.001) and 50–75 years being the most common age group. There was a statistically significant difference in the values of CRP, LDH, PCT, ferritin, AST, albumin, urea, CKNAC, sodium, potassium, and blood glucose levels (p value < 0.05). Conclusion: The severity of COVID-19 disease can be identified at an early stage by following the different routine biochemical marker levels and subsequently improve prognosis. Inflammatory markers (CRP, PCT, LDH, and ferritin) serve as useful guidance for determining disease severity in COVID-19 patients.