Elevated lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and C- reactive protein (CRP) level as a risk factor for critical COVID-19

Objective: To identify correlation of elevated LDH & CRP levels with the outcomes of COVID-19. Methodology: The cross-sectional retrospective study consisted of 200 COVID-19 patients who presented at a private clinical in Baghdad, Iraq. It was carried out from February 2021 to February 2022. Data included age, gender and clinical presentation. Blood samples were taken for high sensitivity CRP and LDH in the serum. Results: Out of 200 patients, 50 were critical and 150 severe according to clinical features. LDH and CRP showed a significant increase (p=0.000) in critical patients. This group involved admission to the respiratory intensive care unit requiring mechanical ventilation than in patients with severe COVID-19 (760.5±6.3 vs. 290.3±4.1 and 44.9±7.6 vs. 25.4±2.3, respectively) Conclusions: LDH and CRP in critical COVID-19 patients may be considered as a risk factor for predicting the bad progression of the disease.