The effect of COVID-19 infection on hematological parameters and early pregnancy loss

Abstract

Objective: Based on the fact that Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is associated with many hemocytometric changes, we aimed to investigate the effect of this underlying inflammatory process on the frequency of early pregnancy loss (EPL) in this clinical trial. Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study. The patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 infection before the 20 weeks of gestation were determined as the study group. Healthy pregnant women in their early pregnancy were determined as the control group. Hematological parameters of all patients included in the analysis were evaluated. Results: A total of 176 pregnant women with confirmed COVID-19 infections were evaluated, of which 117 were included in the analysis. One hundred and seventeen healthy pregnant women were determined as the control group. There was no difference between the groups according to demographic characteristics. The median white blood cell (WBC) and lymphocyte levels were lower in patients with COVID-19 infection (p<0.001 and p<0.001, respectively). The value of platelet/lymphocyte ratio (PLR) was higher in the group with COVID-19 infection (160.95 vs. 132.42, p<0.001). It was also determined that the median plateletcrit level was lower in the group with COVID-19 infection (p<0.001). The rate of EPL in the COVID-19 infection group and control group was 14.2% and 9.4%, respectively (p=0.220). Conclusion: COVID-19 infection presents with low lymphocyte count and plateletcrit values in pregnant women, and an increase in PLR rates in relation to the severity of the disease is observed. Although not statistically significant, COVID-19 infection was associated with increased EPL rates in our study.