Original Articles FREQUENCY OF BLOOD GROUPS AND DURATION OF HOSPITAL STAY AMONG DIFFERENT BLOOD GROUPS IN COVID-19 PATIENTS

Abstract

COVID-19 pandemic is the greatest global challenge, the world is facing from the past few months. Pakistan is currently going through this ongoing health crisis that is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). This virus, named as coronavirus disease (Covid 19), specifically acts on angiotensin-converting enzyme, which was widely found in vascular endothelium, respiratory epithelium, alveolar monocytes, and macrophages. It is reported that there is an unusual trend of abrupt inflammation and hypercoagulability in critically ill COVID-19 patients. Antigenic expression of different blood groups are linked with the development of certain infections. Several blood groups play an important role in the modification of immune response and by providing receptors for microorganisms. Recently, researchers have reported a strong association of COVID-19 disease and certain blood groups.

Objective:

To determine the frequency of ABO blood group and its association with the duration of hospital stay in the hospital in COVID -19 patients.

Material and Methods:

This was a retrospective study analyzing the ABO blood group distribution in 150 patients of COVID-19 admitted in the corona unit of Farooq hospital Westwood branch Lahore from 1st May 2020 to 30th June 2020. These admitted cases were confirmed by RT-PCR.

Results:

The results showed that among COVID-19 patients, blood group B (40%) was more common as compared to O (21%) blood group. Most of the patients (61%) with blood group A required prolonged hospital stay (≥7 days) than patients with blood group O (42%).

Conclusion:

We concluded that certain blood group types have a strong association with developing COVID-19 disease.