摘要
BACKGROUND In December 2019,coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)was reported firstly in Wuhan,China.COVID-19 is currently a global pandemic.AIM To assess the suitability of lymphocyte count as a biomarker of COVID-19 severity.METHODS Five literature databases(PubMed/MEDLINE,Web of Science,Google Scholar,Embase,and Scopus)were searched to identify eligible articles.A meta-analysis was performed to calculate the standard mean difference(SMD)and 95%confidence interval(CI)of lymphocyte counts in coronaviral pneumonia cases.RESULTS Eight studies,including 1057 patients,were integrated in the meta-analysis.Lymphocyte counts were associated with severe coronavirus(CoV)infection(SMD=1.35,95%CI:1.97 to 0.37,P<0.001,I2=92.6%).In the subgroup analysis stratified by prognosis,lymphocytes were associated with CoV infection mortality(n=2,SMD=0.42,95%CI:0.66 to 0.19,P<0.001,I2=0.0%),severity(n=2,SMD=0.93,95%CI:1.20 to 0.67,P<0.001,I2=0.0%),and diagnostic rate(n=4,SMD=2.32,95%CI:3.60 to 1.04,P<0.001,I2=91.2%).CONCLUSION Lymphocyte count may represent a simple,rapid,and commonly available laboratory index with which to diagnosis infection and predict the severity of CoV infections,including COVID-19.
