Hypocalcemia in COVID-19: A prognostic marker for severe disease

Background & Objective: Previous studies have addressed the electrolyte abnormalities such as hypocalcemia in COVID-19 patients. We aimed to compare the laboratory findings especially the electrolyte levels among COVID-19 patients and healthy controls and evaluate their prognostic values. Methods: This case-control study included 91 COVID-19 patients and 169 healthy individuals. Their laboratory parameters including electrolytes, albumin, liver enzymes, complete blood count, vitamin D, and parathyroid hormone (PTH) were compared. We also analyzed the association between these markers and the major outcomes including severity, mortality and hospitalization. Results: Among patients with COVID-19, 59.3 of the patients had hypocalcemia on admission while in control group only 32.5 had low calcium level (OR=3.02, 95 CI: 1.79-5.13, P<0.001). The rates of death and ICU admission were significantly higher among the patients in hypocalcemic group than those of eucalcemic group (85.7 vs 14.3 and 33.3 Vs 9.1, respectively). However, there was no significant difference in the mean PTH and vitamin D levels between the two groups. In terms of the severity of the infection, 74.1 of patients in hypocalcemic group had a severe infection while 24.3 of the patients in eucalcemic group were diagnosed with severe infection (OR=8.89, 95 CI: 3.38-23.37, P<0.001). Conclusion: Patients with COVID-19 may present with considerable laboratory abnormalities including hypocalcemia. The hypocalcemia would be also associated with worse major clinical outcome and higher mortality risk

Procalcitonin as a Prognostic Factor in Patients with COVID-19 in Southwestern Iran

Background: There is increasing evidence supporting a central role of the viral-induced hyper-inflammatory immune response in the pathogenesis of COVID-19. Serum procalcitonin (PCT) is an emerging prognostic marker in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between serum procalcitonin and clinical severity and outcomes in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Materials and Methods: Hematological and biochemical parameters were evaluated in patients with COVID-19 infection from February to April 2020 at Hajar Hospital in the Shahrekord University of Medical Science, Shahrekord, Iran. Results: The results showed that total lymphocyte counts, albumin, calcium, and creatinine levels were significantly different between the two moderate and severe groups, and the mean of procalcitonin level in COVID-19 patients with severe disease was higher (0.36 ng/mL) compared with the patients with moderate disease, and its level was found to be >5 ng/mL in 14.2% of5 ng/mL in 14.2% of patients in the former group. Conclusion: PCT may be a marker of disease severity in COVID-19 and may contribute to determining the severity of patients infected with SARS-CoV-2. Moreover, serial PCT measurements may be beneficial in predicting the prognosi