C-reactive protein and lactate dehydrogenase in intensive care unit and nonintensive care unit COVID-19 patients – A retrospective study

Abstract

Background: Appropriate diagnostic markers play an important role in categorizing COVID-19 patients with respect to the severity of the disease. Aims and Objectives: The aim and objective of this study were to compare C-reactive protein (CRP) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) in intensive care unit (ICU) and non-ICU patients of COVID-19 disease. Materials and Methods: Data was collected from the COVID-19 laboratory (n = approximately 3700). The patients were divided into two groups: ICU and non-ICU. The levels of CRP and LDH were estimated by the microslide method based on an enzymatic heterogeneous sandwich immunoassay. Results: In the ICU group, patients above 50 years were four times in number compared to patients below 50 years. COVID-19 infection was twice more common in males than females. The mean CRP levels in the ICU group were higher compared to non-ICU group, and this difference was statistically significant. LDH was elevated significantly in ICU patients compared to non-ICU patients. Conclusion: The study concludes that patients aged above 50 years are more prone to develop severe COVID-19. Men are more susceptible to develop severe COVID-19. The most evident finding of this study is that among patients below 50 years, higher CRP levels can be used as an alarming marker in predicting severe COVID-19 disease. We suggest that LDH can be used as a marker to predict the severity of COVID-19 disease in all age groups. We also suggest that in patients above 50 years, it is better to use the combination of CRP and LDH in the assessment of severe COVID-19, rather than using CRP alone.