Abstract:
This study aimed to explore the relationship between total leukocyte count (TLC), ferritin, D-dimer, C-reactive
protein (CRP), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) with the outcomes of SARS-CoV-2
Omicron infections. The retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted on 850 COVID patients, admitted in hospitals
in Islamabad and Lahore from January 2021 to December 2022. Baseline data, medical history and laboratory findings
including Complete Blood Count (CBC), TLC, D-dimer, serum ferritin, CRP, LDH and HbA1c were collected. The results
revealed significant positive correlations between disease outcomes and TLC, CRP, LDH and ferritin (all p<0.01), with
HbA1c strongly correlating with mortality (p<0.001). Correlation analysis revealed significant association among various
biomarkers. TLC demonstrated significant positive relationship with serum ferritin (p=0.006), CRP (p=0.000) and HbA1c
(p=0.002). Lymphocyte count showed significant positive correlation with TLC (p<0.001). Ferritin showed positive
correlation with LDH (p<0.001), D-dimer (p=0.008) and CRP (p<0.001). Logistic regression analysis revealed that CRP,
LDH and HbA1c were significant predictors of mortality, with CRP and LDH associated with disease severity also.
Receiver operating curve (ROC) analysis shows LDH to be the strongest predicter of outcome with area under curve
(AUC) 0.76. The biomarkers have significant role in predicting disease outcome in current study.
