Introduction
The coronavirus disease caused by the Coronavirus-2 virus (SARS-CoV-2),
which is especially destructive in the respiratory tract, still impacts
worldwide, although more than one year has passed since the first
appearance of the virus and vaccination studies have been carried out.
Patients show a broad spectrum of clinical manifestations, ranging from
asymptomatic infection to severe respiratory failure resulting in death.
In symptomatic patients, clinical manifestations of the disease begin
less than a week later, consisting of fever (body temperature 37-38-C),
cough, nasal congestion, and fatigue (1). Pneumonia mainly occurs in the
second or third week of symptomatic infection (2,3). Common laboratory
findings include lymphopenia, the elevation of liver enzymes and lactate
dehydrogenase, and inflammation markers such as ferritin, C-reactive
protein, and erythrocyte sedimentation rate. Although white blood cells,
neutrophils, eosinophils, platelets, and other blood cells, including
CD8 cell counts, are partial predictors in distinguishing between mild
and severe COVID-19, their significance is still unclear. Parameters and
rates obtained from tests such as hemogram and biochemistry, which are
fast, easy, and accessible, and routinely studied in the clinic, have
been the subject of many studies to detect biomarkers aimed at
evaluating the course of the disease.
Although the disease course cannot be predicted precisely, biomarkers
that can predict the severity of this disease will make an important
contribution to personalized treatment. Early awareness of the clinical
course will also help reduce mortality. Our aim in this study is to
evaluate the laboratory markers used in patients diagnosed or suspected
of COVID-19 and to develop parameters that can be used to predict
mortality.