Changes in some indicators of hemostasis and inflammatory markers in patients with COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has become one of the most serious challenges for the global healthcare system, causing high mortality and a significant burden on medical institutions. Despite the development of medicine in many countries, none of them was fully prepared for the pandemic. Comorbid conditions that complicate the course of coronavirus disease and affect the effectiveness of treatment have become one of the key risk factors for severe disease and death. Identification of the most important laboratory markers and their correlation with the clinical course of COVID-19 will allow us to improve the prediction of disease outcomes and develop more effective treatment strategies. The article examines the impact of COVID-19 on the overall mortality structure in Ukraine, the features of its course, and prognostic markers of disease severity in patients with comorbid conditions. The aim of our work was to study specific changes in hemostasis indicators as markers of disease severity and prognosis for health status in patients with COVID-19 and comorbid conditions. A retrospective analysis of 399 hospitalizations and 296 deaths in the Chernivtsi Regional Clinical Hospital in 2021 was conducted. The changes we identified showed that a severe course of COVID-19 was significantly more common (p<0.05) in older patients and mainly in men, which may indicate that age and gender are one of the causes of the severity of COVID-19. This pattern is explained by the fact that with age (>65 years), patients are more likely to suffer from cardiovascular diseases and metabolic diseases (diabetes mellitus (DM)), which significantly reduces immunological resistance to SARS-CoV-2 infection. Laboratory indicators that can serve as prognostic markers of a severe course of the disease were analyzed: thrombocytopenia, increased levels of D-dimer, procalcitonin, C-reactive protein, and IL-6. Low body temperature at admission and decreased saturation levels were found to be predictors of poor prognosis. The results may improve monitoring and treatment strategies for COVID-19.