J Leukoc Biol. 2025 Jul 18:qiaf105. doi: 10.1093/jleuko/qiaf105. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
Since its emergence in 2019, the study of biomarkers in COVID-19 has focused on predicting the course of this potentially fatal disease. The eosinophil/lymphocyte ratio (ELR) appears to be a new indicator of systemic inflammation, morbidity, and mortality in inflammatory, allergic and cancer. The aim of our study was to determine the prognostic value of ELR and its early variation in predicting in-hospital mortality and severity in emergency department (ED) patients with SARS-CoV-2 Infection. Between March 1st and April 30th, 2020, we conducted a multicenter, retrospective study in six major hospitals in northeastern France. The cohort included patients with a confirmed diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection (moderate to severe disease) hospitalized after admission to the ED. A total of 1035 patients were included in this study. ELR at H24 (OR: 0.0054, 95% CI: (0.0001-0.2523), p = 0.008) was associated with severity of infection. The only biochemical factor significantly associated with mortality was ΔELR at H24, i.e., the difference between ELR values at H24 and at admission (OR: 0.0305, 95% CI: (0.0026-0.3626), p = 0.006) in univariate analysis. The best ELR threshold for predicting severity of infection was found with the ELR at H24 with a result of 0.0007 (sensitivity 63.8%; specificity 61%), and for predicting mortality, ΔELR H24 found significant values with a threshold of -0.013 (sensitivity 77.4%; specificity 8.48%). In conclusion, ELR at H24 after ED admission may be a potentially useful biomarker for early prediction of severity of SARS-CoV-2 infection, but its isolated use remains limited for mortality prediction.
PMID:40679357 | DOI:10.1093/jleuko/qiaf105