Evaluation of the correlation of serum calcium, phosphorus levels and calcium phosphorus product with disease severity and ICU mortality in SARS-COV-2 pneumonia patients followed up in ICU

Abstract

Background: Calcium and phosphorus are important elements in the body that have been shown to decrease in critical inflammatory diseases. The aim of this study was to evaluate serum levels of calcium and phosphorus and the calcium phosphate product (CPP) in patients followed up in intensive care unit (ICU) due to hypoxemic respiratory failure caused by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia. The secondary endpoint of the study were respiratory support therapies used in the evaluation of independent mortality and disease severity in ICU that were divided into four groups depending on the time of administration: (i) first 24 hours, (ii) 48-72 hours, (iii) 72 hours, and (iv) 72 hours-28 days.
 Material and Method: The retrospective study included patients with critical and severe COVID-19 pneumonia followed up in ICU. 
 Results: The study included 369 patients with a mean age of 64.3±14.8 years. ICU mortality was observed in 142 (38.5%) patients, among whom 17 (4.6%) patients died within 24 hours, 28 (7.6%) died between 48-72 hours, 50 (12.7%) died within 72 hours, and 47 (12.7%) died between 72 hours and 28 days. Serum calcium level established a significant relationship with ICU mortality at 28 days and 72 hours (p0.05).
 Conclusion: Serial assessment of serum calcium may be a new criterion in the prediction of independent mortality in critical and severe COVID-19 pneumonia, which has been recently identified and has numerous unknown features.