Systematic Evaluation of Hematologic Parameters and Blood Smear Findings in Patients With SARS-CoV-2 vs Other Viral Respiratory Infections

Abstract

Abstract Objectives We evaluated and compared the peripheral blood findings in patients with acute COVID-19 vs other viral respiratory infections. Methods We retrospectively reviewed peripheral blood counts and smear morphology in patients with a positive viral respiratory panel (VRP) or SARS-CoV-2 test. Results A total of 97 peripheral blood samples (COVID-19 infection, 53; VRP positive, 44) from 50 patients (mean [SD] age, 45.8 [20.8] years; females 52%) were reviewed. There were no statistically significant differences in the demographic characteristics between the 2 groups. The most common peripheral blood abnormalities were anemia, thrombocytopenia, absolute lymphopenia, and reactive lymphocytes. The following peripheral blood findings were significantly associated with other viral respiratory infections compared with COVID-19 infection: low red blood cell count, low hematocrit, high mean corpuscular volume, thrombocytopenia, low mean platelet volume, high red cell distribution width, band neutrophilia, and toxic granulation in neutrophils. Conclusions Our study showed that there are several peripheral blood count and morphologic abnormalities seen in patients with COVID-19, but most of these findings lack specificity as they are also seen in the other viral respiratory infections.