A Comparative Analysis of Laboratory Parameters of Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients by Disease Severity and Mortality at a Facility in Ibadan, Nigeria.

Background: COVID-19, which is caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, is associated with abnormalities of biochemical parameters. There are indications that some of these biochemical parameters can differ according to the severity of the disease and the outcome of the infection. This study describes and compares laboratory findings among COVID-19 patients hospitalized at a facility in Southwestern Nigeria according to disease severity and mortality. Methodology: Records of 223 patients with COVID-19 disease admitted between March 2020 and May 2021 were retrospectively collected. Socio-demographic characteristics, laboratory parameters, and patient outcomes were obtained. Patients were classified according to COVID-19 severity. Laboratory parameters were compared between patients with severe and non-severe disease and between survivors and non-survivors. Results: Of the 215 patients with some laboratory data included in the analysis, there were 133 (62%) males, and 56.7% were aged above 60 years. A total of 71.6% had severe COVID-19 and 48.4% died during hospitalization. The severe disease occurred significantly more frequently among non-survivors ( Conclusion: Our study found that certain readily obtainable biochemical parameters occur more frequently with severe disease and/or mortality amongst patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in sub-Saharan Africa and might be useful for prognostication and allocation of resources.