Armaghana Qamar Khan, Iqra Butt, Sundas Ali, Summaya Sohail, Mariam Khan Qamar, Furqan Tahir.
Association of Serum Albumin and Total Protein Levels with Lymphopenia in Covid-19 Infection at a Tertiary Care Hospital in Pakistan.
Pak J Pathol Jan ;33(2):65-8.

Objective: To evaluate metabolic parameters such as serum albumin levels and serum total protein and their correlation with hematologic index such as lymphopenia in hospitalized patients with laboratory confirmed COVID-19 infection. Material and Methods: This retrospective study was conducted in Department of Pathology, Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, from April 2020 to June 2020. Total 65 patients with confirmed RT-PCR for COVID-19 infection were tested for alterations in serum albumin and total protein levels, and association between these two parameters and the presence of lymphopenia was studied. Pearson chi-square test was applied to analyze statistical significance and a p value less than 0.05 was taken as significant. Results: Age range was from 18 to 90 years of age, with a mean age of 50.6 +- 16.3 years. The male patients were in majority as compared to females. Hypoalbuminemia (serum albumin < 3.5 g/dl) was observed in 77% patients and hypoproteinemia (serum total protein < 6.6 g/dl) was observed in 57% of these patients. Lymphopenia (absolute lymphocyte count <1000/microliter) was seen in 49.2 % patients. There was significant association between lymphopenia and low albumin levels in serum (p=0.01) Conclusion: Hypoalbuminemia and hypoproteinemia are common findings in COVID-19. Low albumin levels are significantly associated with decreased lymphocyte count in the blood.

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