Original Article

Prognostic Role of Inflammatory and Coagulation Factors in Severe COVID-19: A Descriptive Analysis from an Intensive Care Unit

Abstract

Background: Severe COVID-19 is often associated with systemic inflammation and coagulopathy, which may influence clinical outcomes. Identifying prognostic biomarkers at ICU admission can aid in risk stratification and management.

Methods: In this retrospective study, 363 ICU-admitted patients with severe COVID-19 were evaluated. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality; secondary outcomes included associations between inflammatory/coagulation biomarkers and mortality, and comparison of derived ratios with their individual components.

Results: Mortality was 62.8%. Non-survivors had significantly higher D-dimer (p = 0.047), ferritin (p = 0.057), ESR (p = 0.018), and PCT (p = 0.049), with lower lymphocyte counts (p = 0.058) and vitamin D levels (p = 0.002). NLR was markedly elevated in non-survivors (p = 0.037) and showed the best predictive value (AUC = 0.66), outperforming neutrophil and lymphocyte counts individually. PLR provided limited discrimination. Diabetes and hypertension were also associated with increased mortality.

Conclusion: Inflammatory and coagulation markers—particularly NLR, D-dimer, ferritin, ESR, PCT, lymphocyte count, and vitamin D—are useful predictors of mortality in critically ill COVID-19. Early recognition of these parameters may aid triage and optimize ICU resource allocation.

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IssueVol 13, No 3 (Summer 2025) QRcode
SectionOriginal Article(s)
DOI https://doi.org/10.18502/jpc.v13i3.20321
Keywords
COVID-19 Inflammation Coagulopathy Mortality ICU D-dimer Ferritin NLR Lymphopenia

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1.
Pourfallah R, Badrbani M, Azadmehr B, Jahangirifard B, Mourtami R, Shariat Moharari R, Pourfakhr P, Sharifnia H, Mojtahedzadeh M, Najafi A, Kianpour P. Prognostic Role of Inflammatory and Coagulation Factors in Severe COVID-19: A Descriptive Analysis from an Intensive Care Unit. J Pharm Care. 2025;13(3):180-187.