| ORIGINAL ARTICLE |
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| Year : 2022 | Volume
: 15
| Issue : 12 | Page : 551-557 |
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Hematological profile of COVID-19 infected children before and after the spread of the Omicron variant in Istanbul
Berkin Berk Akbeyaz1, AyŞe Karaaslan2, Ceren Çetin2, Mehmet Tolga Köle3, Zeynep AltaŞ4, Yasemin Akın3
1 Department of Pediatrics, University of Health Sciences, Kartal Dr. Lütfi Kirdar City Hospital, Pediatric Hematology and Oncology Istanbul, Turkey
2 Department of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, University of Health Sciences, Kartal Dr. Lütfi Kirdar City Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey
3 Department of Pediatrics, University of Health Sciences, Kartal Dr. Lütfi Kirdar City Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey
4 Department of Public Health, Marmara University, Istanbul, Turkey
Correspondence Address:
Berkin Berk Akbeyaz
Department of Pediatrics, University of Health Sciences, Kartal Dr. Lütfi Kirdar City Hospital, Pediatric Hematology and Oncology Istanbul, Turkey
Turkey
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None
DOI: 10.4103/1995-7645.364004
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Objective: To examine the effect of the COVID-19 virus, especially the Omicron variant, on hematological parameters of hospitalized pediatric patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods: Medical records of pediatric COVID-19 patients hospitalized at Kartal Dr. Lütfi Kirdar City Hospital in Istanbul, Turkey, between March 2020 and May 2022 were retrospectively reviewed to analyze data regarding demographics, SARS-CoV-2 infection polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test results, reverse-transcriptase (RT)-PCR for other respiratory agents, duration of hospital stay, and hematological and biochemical laboratory findings.
Results: Out of 467 children with a confirmed diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection, 94 (20.1%) had Omicron infection and 373 (79.9%) were infected with other variants; the Omicron group had younger patients than the remaining samples (P<0.001). The most frequent clinical symptoms in all children were cough (53.5%) and fever (32.3%), followed by vomiting (20.8%). Lung involvement in the Omicron group (10.6%) was significantly lower than in the remaining samples (29.8%) (P<0.001). Hemoglobin and lymphocyte levels were lower in the Omicron-infected group (both P<0.001), while prothrombin time, activated partial thromboplastin time, international normalized ratio, and D-dimer levels were significantly higher in this group (P<0.001, P<0.001, P<0.001, and P=0.023, respectively). In terms of lung involvement, those with lung involvement were significantly older (P<0.001).
Conclusions: Although lung involvement was less common with Omicron infection, this group had greater hematological system involvement, such as anemia, lymphopenia, D-dimer elevation, and coagulation disorders.
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