Clinical Significance of CBC and WBC Morphology in the Diagnosis and Clinical Course of COVID-19 Infection

Objectives: To investigate the clinical significance of numeric and morphologic peripheral blood (PB) changes in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-positive patients in predicting the outcome, as well as to compare these changes between critically ill COVID-19-positive and COVID-19-negative patients.

Methods: The study included 90 COVID-19-positive (51 intensive care unit [ICU] and 39 non-ICU) patients and 30 COVID-19-negative ICU patients. We collected CBC parameters (both standard and research) and PB morphologic findings, which were independently scored by two hematopathologists.

Results: All patients with COVID-19 demonstrated striking numeric and morphologic WBC changes, which were different between mild and severe disease states. More severe disease was associated with significant neutrophilia and lymphopenia, which was intensified in critically ill patients. Abnormal WBC morphology, most pronounced in monocytes and lymphocytes, was associated with more mild disease; the changes were lost with disease progression. Between COVID-19-positive and COVID-19-negative ICU patients, significant differences in morphology-associated research parameters were indicative of changes due to the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 virus, including higher RNA content in monocytes, lower RNA content in lymphocytes, and smaller hypogranular neutrophils.

Conclusions: Hospitalized patients with COVID-19 should undergo a comprehensive daily CBC with manual WBC differential to monitor for numerical and morphologic changes predictive of poor outcome and signs of disease progression.