, Zahide Taş 1
, Tuğba Naziroğlu 2
, Nergiz Ekmen 3
, Buket Yağcı 4
, Hadi Sasani 5
, Pınar Özkan Epöztürk 2
, Semih Sözen 6
, Reyhan Diz Küçükkaya 7
, Nalan Ünel Özcan 8
2Pendik State Hospital, Clinic of Chest Diseases, İstanbul, Turkey
3Gazi University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Gastroenterology, Ankara, Turkey
4University of Health Sciences Turkey, İstanbul Haydarpaşa Numune Training and Research Hospital, Clinic of Radiology, İstanbul, Turkey
5Tekirdağ Namık Kemal University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Radiology, Tekirdağ, Turkey
6Pendik State Hospital, Clinic of Emergency Medicine, İstanbul, Turkey
7Private Practice, Hematologist, İstanbul, Turkey
8Pendik State Hospital, Clinic of Infectious Diseases, İstanbul, Turkey
Abstract
Objective: Dynamic changes in the number of eosinophils are observed during the diagnosis and follow-up in coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19). Our aim was to show the role of the absolute eosinophil count in the diagnosis of COVID-19 and the relationship with disease severity and prognosis.
Methods: In this study, 191 patients (130 inpatients, 61 outpatients) diagnosed with COVID-19 pneumonia with the polymerase chain reaction test and lung computed tomography; and 22 patients with positive influenza test were included as the control group. All demographic, biochemical data, clinical and radiological characteristics were recorded.
Results: The mean eosinophils on first day of the inpatient COVID-19 group were found to be statistically lower than the influenza group and the ambulatory groups (p=0.001, p=0.0001).
Conclusion: A low eosinophil count in complete blood count, can aid in the early diagnosis of infection. Persistent eosinopenia progresses with disease severity and may help determine the prognosis of the disease.