Leucocyte counts and percentages
WBC counts, and percentages of lymphocytes, monocytes, and neutrophils
and their absolute numbers in patients with COVID-19 were summarized in
Table 1. Accordingly, there was no difference in total WBC numbers
between the groups. The lymphocyte percentage was found to be
significantly lower in the moderate and severe groups compared to the
mild group (p<0.01, Table 1). Absolute lymphocyte count was
lower in the moderate and severe group compared to the mild group, but
it reached statistical significance only between the mild and severe
group (p=0.02, Table 1). The percentage of monocytes was higher in mild
COVID-19 patients compared to moderate and severe patients
(p<0.05). However, there was no statistically significant
difference between the groups in absolute monocyte counts. The
percentage of neutrophils percentage was low in the mild group.
Statistical difference was found only between mild and severe groups (p
<0.01, Table 1). In addition to the increase in percentages of
neutrophils, absolute number of neutrophils was also found to be
statistically high in the moderate and severe groups in comparison to
the mild group (p <0.01, Table 1).
Thus, it has been shown that lymphopenia deepened and granulocytosis
increased, as both percentage and absolute number proportionally to the
severity of the disease in accordance with the literature (15). There
was no difference in either WBC counts or percentages of leukocyte
subsets when patients were classified according to their co-morbidities.