Mooted: Diagnosis of Covid-19 from complete blood cell count

The research is published in The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association.

Coronavirus news, Coronavirus vaccine, Covid cure, Coronavirus diagnosis, Coronavirus symptoms, Indian Express

Students of Sukhamoy HS School in Agartala paint the walls amid the coronavirus pandemic. (Express Photo: Abhishek Saha)

Researchers have flagged a rapid laboratory test for early recognition of Covid-19 in patients. Called eosinophil count, it is readily obtained from a routine complete blood cell count (CBC). The research is published in The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association.

Researchers compared the eosinophil results of routine CBC from the first 50 admitted Covid-19 patients in Coney Island Hospital, New York, with the eosinophil results of 50 patients with influenza infection.

They found that eosinopenia (low eosinophil count) correlated with diagnosis of Covid-19. Of the Covid-19 patients, 60% had zero eosinophils at presentation, compared to 16% of influenza patients.

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Another 28% of Covid-19 patients had zero eosinophils within 48 hours of admission, thus a total 88% had zero eosinophils during hospitalisation.

Source: American Osteopathic Association

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