Platelet / Lymphocyte Ratio (PLR) in Severity of COVID-19 Patients at H. Adam Malik Hospital, Medan

Introduction: COVID-19 patients have broad-spectrum symptoms from asymptomatic to septic shock, multiorgan failure, and death. Fully monitoring its severity is very crucial to prevent higher mortality. The Platelet/Lymphocyte Ratio (PLR) reflects the connection between aggregation and inflammatory pathways that can be used as a predictive parameter of disease progression. This study was to analyze the difference of PLR levels of COVID-19 patients to obtain an easy and inexpensive biomarker in predicting its progression. Methods: It is a case-control design on RT-PCR confirmed COVID-19 adult patients who were treated at Haji Adam Malik Hospital. All samples were grouped into three classifications of severity (mild-moderate, severe, and critical). Subsequently, blood samples were taken to analyze the PLR levels of each patient. Results: From 54 patients, 18 patients in each group, an amount 59.3% was male and mean PLR of mild to moderate group was 154.11, severe group 326.38, and critical group 354.03. The ANOVA test found there was a significant difference between PLR levels of mild-moderate to severe and critical group (p-value = 0.004 and 0.001 respectively). Conclusion: PLR levels can be used as an easy and inexpensive parameter in predicting the severity of COVID-19.