Laboratory characteristics among patients with COVID-19: a single-center experience from Khartoum, Sudan

Background: COVID19 is associated with a number of laboratory characteristics and changes with different levels of prog-nostic significance. We report changes in lab findings between severe and non-severe COVID-19 in patients that had molecular testing of nasopharyngeal swabs in Khartoum, Sudan Material and Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study, conducted from Jan to May 2021. It included 66 preiden-tified COVID19 patients who attended the isolation center at Jabra Hospital in Khartoum the capital city of Sudan. Participants were enrolled for CBC, D-dimer and C-Reactive Protein testing. Among these participants, 21(31.8%) had severe COVID19 pneumonia.. Data were analysed using SPSS version 24, and the independent sample t-test was used to compare severe and non-sever cases. Results: The mean values for all cases showed a mild decrease in Hb (9.53 +/- 1.83 g/dl), MCHC (28.3 +/- 2.91 g/dl); lymphocytes % (19.8 +/- 6.82); increased RDW-SD (50.1 +/- 5.70 fL), D-dimer (4.2 +/- 3.73 mu g/ml) and CRP (107.2 +/- 61.21 mg/dl). There were sig- nificant d/span>differences in the laboratory findings between severe and non-severe COVID-19 cases in total WBCs (p value = .001), lymphocyte % (p value = .000), neutrophil % (p value=.038), RDW-SD (p value = .044), D-dimer (p value = .029) and CRP (p value = .044). Conclusion: The laboratory findings of CBC, D-dimer and CRP provide an essential contribution to predicti COVID-19 se- verity and prognosis.