EVALUATION OF HUMAN ABO BLOOD GROUPS AND BLOOD COMPONENTS AMONG IRAQI PATIENTS INFECTED WITH CORONAVIRUS DISEASE 2019 (COVID-19).

Abstract

The aim: To evaluate the differences in blood groups, gender and type of Rh factor, as well as the levels of hemoglobin, white blood cells and platelets among patients infected with COVID-19. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study was performed on 202 patients diagnosed with sever COVID-19 infection who were admitted to the Al-Shefaa center in Al- Hakeem hospital in Al-Najef city.Haematological investigations involved the types of blood groups, Rh factors, haemoglobin (Hb), white blood cells (WBCs), and platelets. In addition, the demographic features including age, gender and presence of any prescribed medications before or at the time of the study were also included. Results: This study indicated that COVID-19 infected patients with type A blood group are at higher risk of hospitalization than other blood groups, and the majority of these patients were Rh positive. Additionally, WBCs counts indicated that the majority of patients had increased risk of getting infections which demonstrated lower WBC counts than normal. Platelet and Hb levels were normal for the majority of patients. Conclusions: The findings of this study may help in the diagnosis of the pandemic infection with COVID-19, and prediction of the incidence of some complications caused by COVID-19. Further researches are warranted to confirm our findings.