Hemogram Parameters Cannot Distinguish Pediatric COVID-19 from Other Respiratory Infections

Abstract

 To fight against the pandemic, which has become the most significant public health problem of modern times, the isolation of patients and early detection of the coronavirus-2019 (COVID-19) disease are crucial. This study aimed to show the diagnostic predictor of hemogram parameters and the rates obtained from these parameters in differentiating COVID-19 from other respiratory tract diseases. Data of patients aged between 1 month and 18 years who were admitted to the 3rd and 2nd level pediatric emergency with the pre-diagnosis of “COVID-19-like disease” between 12 January 2022 and July 12, 2022, which is one month after the Omicron (Nu) variant was accepted as an established variant in Türkiye, were retrospectively reviewed. A total of 724 children with pre-diagnosis of COVID-19-like disease whose complete blood count and Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2) polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test from oropharynx/nasopharyngeal swab samples were included in the study. Two hundred children were positive for SARS-CoV-2 PCR (27.6%). Total leukocytes, neutrophils, lymphocytes, monocytes, eosinophils, platelets, platelet distribution width, platelet crit counts, and neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio were lower, and hemoglobin values were higher in the COVID-19 group than in the other group. These differences were statistically significant (p<0.05). When these parameters were evaluated by receiver operating characteristic analysis, the area under the curve values of the other parameters, except the eosinophil count, were statistically significant. However, when the obtained possibility ratios were examined, significant cut-off values could not be obtained regarding diagnostic predictiveness. It was found that using complete blood count parameters in the diagnostic process is not helpful in differentiating SARS-CoV-2 from other respiratory tract diseases. It is essential to conduct studies with larger sample sizes to understand whether complete blood count parameters can predict the diagnosis of COVID-19.