The Association of Age, Sex, and RT-PCR Results with the Lymphocyte and Neutrophil Counts in SARS-CoV-2 Infection: A Cross-sectional Analysis of 1450 Iranian Patients with COVID-19

Davood Bashash; Hassan Abolghasemi; Parisa Naseri; Abdol Majid Cheraghali; Mohammad Javad Soltanpoor; Abbas Ali Imani Fooladi

doi:10.18502/ijaai.v20i2.6046

Davood Bashash Department of Hematology and Blood Banking, School of Allied Medical Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Hassan Abolghasemi Applied Microbiology Research Center, Systems Biology and Poisonings Institute, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Parisa Naseri Research Center for Social Determinants of Health, Research Institute for Endocrine Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Abdol Majid Cheraghali Faculty of Pharmacy, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Mohammad Javad Soltanpoor Clinical and Molecular Laboratory, Baqiyatallah Hospital, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Abbas Ali Imani Fooladi Applied Microbiology Research Center, Systems Biology and Poisonings Institute, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/ijaai.v20i2.6046

Abstract

Containment of pandemic infections mainly depends on prompt identification of carriers, achievable through strict surveillance and truthful diagnostic testing. Although molecular identification of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the gold standard method, its low sensitivity and long turnaround time are among major concerns. In this retrospective single-center study, we reviewed the results of the lymphocyte and neutrophil counts of 1450 Iranian patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) recruited at Baqiyatallah Hospital, Tehran, Iran. Of 1450 patients, 439 cases (30.3%) were polymerase chain reaction (PCR) negative; further emphasizing that getting negative molecular testing is not as reliable as a positive result. While the lymphocyte count in cases with less than 50 years old was 1.8×103/µL (1.2-2.5), it was 1.47×103/µL (0.84-2.16) in the older group (p<0.001). Also, men experienced lower lymphocytes as compared to women (1.53×103/µL vs 1.76×103/µL; p=0.002). Of particular interest, the lymphocyte count in the PCR-negative cases was 1.77×103/µL (0.98-2.45) which was significantly higher than its count in their positive counterparts (1.53×103/µL; p=0.004). Unlike lymphocytes, sex and PCR did not significantly affect the number of neutrophils. The odds ratio for neutrophilia in patients aged older than 50, either with a negative or a positive PCR, was 2.46 and 2.23, suggesting old age as the most significant associated factor.