Abstract

Objective: To examine the clinical and laboratory characteristics, comorbidities, and outcomes of hematological malignancies (HM) patients with COVID-19 infection in a tertiary care hospital in a developing country.
Methodology: A total of 109 patients treated for HM at Dow University of Health Sciences were analyzed retrospectively for COVID-19 infection using PCR between February 2020 and April 2021. Data were collected and analyzed using SPSS 26. Statistical tests included the Mann-Whitney and chi-square or Fisher exact tests, with a significance level of p≤0.05.
Results: COVID-19 was detected in 28 (25.7%) out of 109 of HM patients. Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) and Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) constituted 35.7 % of cases each. COVID-19 positive patients had higher rates of radiological abnormalities (42.9% vs. 2.5%), lower hemoglobin (median = 8.8g/dL vs. 9.9g/dL) and lower platelet counts (median = 55×10^9/L vs. 144×10^9/L). Fever was the most common symptom (21.4%), and 50% of positive patients were asymptomatic. The mortality rate was 21.4% (6/28).
Conclusion: There were notable hematological and radiological differences among HM patients who tested positive for COVID-19. The results emphasize the necessity of early therapies and improved surveillance in immunocompromised patients.

Key words: COVID-19 infection, hematological malignancies, clinical manifestations, outcome.