Chemical laboratory changes for Covid-19 patients

Following on from our previous article on the significance of coagulation studies in Covid-19 diseases, this overview is intended to take a closer look at the applicability of Greiner Bio-One VACUETTE® tubes in chemical laboratory testing..

The progression of Covid-19 disease in patients varies greatly, meaning that there are some with confirmed Corona virus who have only very mild symptoms (approx. 80%), while others experience or die from an extremely severe (10-15%), even critical (2-5%) progression [1].

Real time RT-PCR tests of, for example, nose and throat swabs are performed using direct virus detection to diagnose Covid-19. Antibody tests for IgG and IgM in the blood show a corresponding immune response from the body after suffering from the disease (an RT-PCR test cannot detect if a person has become ill and recovered). Some studies are available, but the sensitivity and specificity of the individual test methods in particular are a matter for debate [2-5].

Numerous studies have been carried out in the meantime, which included patients with pneumonia and other frequently occurring chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension or cardiovascular systemic diseases, and which for the most part highlighted various clinical abnormalities such as fever, cough, and breathing difficulties, muscle, head and chest pain, throat inflammation, mental confusion, rhinorrhoea, diarrhoeal diseases and nausea [6;7;8].

Further chemical laboratory studies also point to COVID-19 disease. Analyses of blood imaging tests and of a comprehensive metabolic panel in the blood serum, for example inflammatory markers such as CRP, procalcitonin, and similarly LDH, ferritin, CK, CK-MB, troponin, aminotransferases, and proinflammatory cytokines, show significant changes in these indicators in patients with COVID-19 disease.

A study [9] found essential analytes for the progressive intensity of Covid-19, such as the number of lymphocytes or neutrophils, albumin, LDH, aminotransferase, cardiac markers, inflammatory markers, and D-dimers. Lymphopenia was confirmed at 35-75%, as was an increase in CRP of 75-93%, LDH of 27-92%, an RBC sedimentation rate of up to 85%, and D-dimer of 36-43%. Lower levels were found for albumin of 50-98% and haemoglobin of 41-50%.