Mohammad Subkhan
1* , Thariq Malikul Mulki
2 , Nabil Salim Ambar
3 , Laily Irfana
4 , Sri Widyaningsih
3 , Putu Bagus Dharma Permana
5,6 , Agung Dwi Wahyu Widodo
6,7 , Aprilia Paramitasari
8 1 Department of Pulmonology and Respirology, Siti Khodijah Muhammadiyah Sepanjang Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Muhammadiyah Surabaya, Surabaya, Indonesia
2 Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Muhammadiyah Surabaya, Surabaya, Indonesia
3 Department of Clinical Pathology, Siti Khodijah Muhammadiyah Sepanjang Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Muhammadiyah Surabaya, Surabaya, Indonesia
4 Department of Neurology, Siti Khodijah Muhammadiyah Sepanjang Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Muhammadiyah Surabaya, Surabaya, Indonesia
5 Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Airlangga, Surabaya, Indonesia
6 Integrated Medical Laboratory, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Airlangga, Surabaya, Indonesia
7 Department of Clinical Microbiology, Dr. Soetomo General Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Airlangga, Surabaya, Indonesia
8 International Ph.D. Program for Cell Therapy and Regenerative Medicine, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
Abstract
Introduction: Severe morbidity and mortality in COVID-19 are linked to an inflammatory ‘cytokine storm’ driven by hyperactive macrophages and altered monocyte function. Identifying early immune predictors of severe COVID-19 outcomes is critical for optimizing patient care and resource allocation, especially under a resource-limited setting.
Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between monocyte and platelet levels and COVID-19 severity at a secondary hospital in East Java, Indonesia.
Patients and Methods: A single-center, cross-sectional study was conducted by utilizing electronic medical health records from 100 patients admitted to the Siti Khodijah Muhaammadiyah Sepanjang hospital May to September 2021. Initial complete blood counts were retrieved from adult patients who tested positive for COVID-19 by real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR ). A backward-stepwise multivariate regression model was incorporated to evaluate the association between platelet and monocyte levels with COVID-19 severity.
Results: Despite the non-association in the bivariate analysis, thrombocytopenia significantly reduced the risk of severe COVID-19 manifestation in the multivariate model (aPR 0.184; 95% CI: 0.047-0.722). Interestingly, patients with monocytosis had a lower risk of the severe disease compared to those with normal monocytes both in the bivariate and multivariate analyses (PR 0.364; 95% CI [0.157-0.841] and aPR 0.334; 95% CI [0.126-0.882], respectively). However, there was no significant increase in severity among those presenting with low monocyte or high platelet counts.
Conclusion: There is a unidirectional association between low platelets and high monocyte levels with severe manifestations of COVID-19 disease. Further research is warranted to validate these findings and explore their utility in risk stratification and clinical management of COVID-19 patients.