Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37270578›Full record

ArticleScientific reports2023

Anemia as a risk factor for disease progression in patients admitted for COVID-19: data from a large, multicenter cohort study.

Nicola Veronese, Francesco Vladimiro Segala, Luca Carruba, Anna La Carrubba, Francesco Pollicino, Giusi Di Franco, Giacomo Guido, Mariangela Cormio, Alessia Lugli, Laura De Santis and 11 more

Open access · goldAbstract readMulticenter Study
In one paragraph

Article in Scientific reports, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
19citing papers in PubMed
6.2field-weighted citation impact, top 3% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

19 citing papers in PubMed, 32 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Kidney involvement and anemia in COVID-19 infection.World journal of nephrology · 2025
    Review
  3. Hematochemical hallmarks as markers of pulmonary TB severity: A multicenter cross-sectional study.Journal of clinical tuberculosis and other mycobacterial diseases · 2025
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

21 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Nicola VeroneseGeriatric Unit, Department of Internal Medicine and Geriatrics, University of Palermo, Via del Vespro 141, 90127, Palermo, Italy.
Francesco Vladimiro SegalaClinic of Infectious Diseases, Department of Precision and Regenerative Medicine and Ionian Area (DiMePRe-J), University of Bari Aldo Moro, 70124, Bari, Italy.
Luca CarrubaGeriatric Unit, Department of Internal Medicine and Geriatrics, University of Palermo, Via del Vespro 141, 90127, Palermo, Italy.
Anna La CarrubbaGeriatric Unit, Department of Internal Medicine and Geriatrics, University of Palermo, Via del Vespro 141, 90127, Palermo, Italy.
Francesco PollicinoGeriatric Unit, Department of Internal Medicine and Geriatrics, University of Palermo, Via del Vespro 141, 90127, Palermo, Italy.
Giusi Di FrancoGeriatric Unit, Department of Internal Medicine and Geriatrics, University of Palermo, Via del Vespro 141, 90127, Palermo, Italy.
Giacomo GuidoClinic of Infectious Diseases, Department of Precision and Regenerative Medicine and Ionian Area (DiMePRe-J), University of Bari Aldo Moro, 70124, Bari, Italy. giacguido@gmail.com.
Mariangela CormioClinic of Infectious Diseases, Department of Precision and Regenerative Medicine and Ionian Area (DiMePRe-J), University of Bari Aldo Moro, 70124, Bari, Italy.
Alessia LugliClinic of Infectious Diseases, Department of Precision and Regenerative Medicine and Ionian Area (DiMePRe-J), University of Bari Aldo Moro, 70124, Bari, Italy.
Laura De SantisClinic of Infectious Diseases, Department of Precision and Regenerative Medicine and Ionian Area (DiMePRe-J), University of Bari Aldo Moro, 70124, Bari, Italy.
Vittorio GuerraClinic of Infectious Diseases, Department of Precision and Regenerative Medicine and Ionian Area (DiMePRe-J), University of Bari Aldo Moro, 70124, Bari, Italy.
Martino PepeSection of Cardiovascular Diseases, Department of Interdisciplinary Medicine (DIM), University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy.
Rocco TrittoSection of Cardiovascular Diseases, Department of Interdisciplinary Medicine (DIM), University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy.
Marco Matteo CicconeSection of Cardiovascular Diseases, Department of Interdisciplinary Medicine (DIM), University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy.
Davide Fiore BavaroClinic of Infectious Diseases, Department of Precision and Regenerative Medicine and Ionian Area (DiMePRe-J), University of Bari Aldo Moro, 70124, Bari, Italy.
Gaetano BrindicciClinic of Infectious Diseases, Department of Precision and Regenerative Medicine and Ionian Area (DiMePRe-J), University of Bari Aldo Moro, 70124, Bari, Italy.
Pasquale MansuetoGeriatric Unit, Department of Internal Medicine and Geriatrics, University of Palermo, Via del Vespro 141, 90127, Palermo, Italy.
Lydia GiannitrapaniGeriatric Unit, Department of Internal Medicine and Geriatrics, University of Palermo, Via del Vespro 141, 90127, Palermo, Italy.
Francesco Di GennaroClinic of Infectious Diseases, Department of Precision and Regenerative Medicine and Ionian Area (DiMePRe-J), University of Bari Aldo Moro, 70124, Bari, Italy.
Mario BarbagalloGeriatric Unit, Department of Internal Medicine and Geriatrics, University of Palermo, Via del Vespro 141, 90127, Palermo, Italy.
Annalisa SaracinoClinic of Infectious Diseases, Department of Precision and Regenerative Medicine and Ionian Area (DiMePRe-J), University of Bari Aldo Moro, 70124, Bari, Italy.
University of Bari Aldo Moro · ITUniversity of Palermo · IT

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

In respiratory infections, anemia is both a consequence of acute inflammation and a predictor of poor clinical outcomes. There are few studies investigating the role of anemia in COVID-19, suggesting a potential role in predicting disease severity. In this study, we aimed to assess the association between the presence of anemia at admission and incidence of severe disease and death in patients hospitalized for COVID-19. Data from all adult patients admitted for COVID-19 in University Hospital "P. Giaccone" Palermo, and University Hospital of Bari, Italy, were retrospectively collected from 1st of September 2020 to 31 August 2022. The association between anemia (defined as Hb < 13 g/dl and < 12 g/dl in males and females, respectively), in-hospital mortality and severe COVID-19 was tested using a Cox's regression analysis. Severe COVID-19 forms were defined as admission to intensive or sub-intensive care unit or a qSOFAscore ≥ 2 or CURB65scores ≥ 3. p values were calculated using the Student's t test for continuous variables and the Mantel-Haenszel Chi-square test for categorical ones. The association between anemia and the mortality was made using a Cox's regression analysis, adjusted, in two models, for the potential confounders and using a propensity score. Among the 1562 patients included in the analysis, prevalence of anemia was 45.1% (95% CI 43-48%). Patients with anemia were significantly older (p < 0.0001), reported more co-morbidities, and presented higher baseline levels of procalcitonin, CRP, ferritin and IL-6. Overall, the crude incidence of mortality was about four times higher in patients with anemia compared to those without. After adjusting for 17 potential confounders, the presence of anemia significantly increased the risk of death (HR = 2.68; 95% CI: 1.59-4.52) and of risk of severe COVID-19 (OR = 2.31; 95% CI: 1.65-3.24). The propensity score analysis substantially confirmed these analyses. Our study provides evidence that, in patients hospitalized for COVID-19, anemia is both associated with a more pronounced baseline pro-inflammatory profile and higher incidence of in-hospital mortality and severe disease.

Indexed as

AnemiaCOVID-19AdultDisease ProgressionFemaleHumansMaleRetrospective StudiesRisk Factors

Identifiers

PMID37270578
PMCPMC10239032
OpenAlexW4379260082

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.