COVID-19 associated coagulopathy is correlated with increased age and markers of inflammation response

Abstract

Background: The severe manifestations of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are linked to viral hyper-inflammation, cytokine release syndrome and subsequent coagulation disturbances. The most common coagulation abnormality observed in COVID-19 patients is the elevation of the plasma levels of D-dimers. The aim of this study was to evaluate the characteristics of COVID-19-associated inflammatory syndrome and coagulopathy, in correlation with disease severity. Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study, enrolling all consecutive COVID-19 patients treated in the Adulti 3 Department of the Prof. Dr. Matei Bals National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Bucharest, Romania, between 1st march and 30th September 2020. We recorded clinical and epidemiological characteristics, inflammatory markers, coagulation abnormalities and lymphocyte count. The severity of lung involvement was assessed using native Computed Tomography examination. Results: We included 106 patients with SARS-COV2 infection, 50 males (47.2%) and 56 females (52.8%), age range 14-91 years. All markers of inflammation were increased in our study in patients with severe disease, as were lactate dehydrogenase, monocyte distribution width, and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio. An elevated level of serum D-dimers was observed in approximately half of our subjects and was associated with disease severity. Our best linear regression model for predicting COVID-19 coagulopathy (manifested as abnormal D-dimer levels) included age, fibrinogen, and lymphocyte count. Conclusion: Our findings emphasize the association between COVID-19 coagulopathy and the presence of systemic inflammation. A significant proportion of patients with moderate and severe disease had coagulation abnormalities and these were linked with the presence of inflammation and older age..