Asociación entre índice neutrófilos/linfocitos y mortalidad en pacientes con COVID-19 severo

Abstract

Introduction: COVID-19 is a highly infectious disease. Severity predictors, such as the Neutrophil/Lymphocyte Ratio (NLR), have been identified. The NLR serves as a prognostic tool for admission to a higher complexity unit, estimated to be low-cost and easily obtainable through a complete blood count.

Objective: To estimate the association between the Neutrophil/Lymphocyte Ratio and mortality in severe COVID-19 patients.

Methodology: This was an observational cohort study. The sample size consisted of 324 subjects, whose information was obtained from the clinical records of severe COVID-19 patients admitted to Hospital Pablo Arturo Suárez during the period 2021 to 2022. Variables included sex, age, and the Neutrophil/Lymphocyte Ratio. Descriptive analysis was performed, and the chi-square test (χ²) was used to establish associations between variables. Logistic regression was calculated for NLR variability and mortality. The statistical program JASP version 0.17.2.1 was used.

Results: Of the sample size, 95 were females (29.3%) and 229 were males (70.7%). The average age was 50.48 years. The most frequent comorbidities were arterial hypertension (15.1%) and cardiac arrhythmias (3.4%). NLR variation was not related to sex (p = 0.107) or age (p = 0.162). A decrease in NLR or a low value was associated with survival, while a high NLR value or its increase was associated with mortality (p < 0.001). The mortality rate from COVID-19 was 39.8%.

Conclusions: Severe COVID-19 patients were predominantly male and over 50 years old. An increased NLR was statistically significantly associated with mortality. The presence of comorbidities did not show a significant relationship with NLR variation.