The use of the ferritin/procalcitonin ratio as a marker for the prognosis of disease severity in COVID-19 patients

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Aim: COVID-19 infection caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus emerged in Wuhan, China, in December 2019 and rapidly became a global pandemic. There is still a need for markers to predict disease severity and prognosis. The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate the relationship between the ferritin-procalcitonin ratio (FPR) and disease severity and prognosis in patients followed up with COVID-19 pneumonia. Materials and methods: The study included patients with COVID-19 pneumonia confirmed by real-time polymerase chain reaction test positivity on nasal and pharyngeal smear samples. Results: Evaluation was made of 2120 cases, comprising 1155 (54.5%) males and 965 (45.5%) females. FPR was determined to be statistically significantly lower in non-survivors, those admitted to the Intensive Care Unit, and those with diabetes, hypertension, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, coronary artery disease, cancer, or chronic renal failure (p<0.01). It was found that FPR is significantly lower in critical cases compared to cases of moderate and severe disease. In this study, FPR was determined to be at a significantly lower level in cases with severe pneumonia than in cases with mild and moderate severity pneumonia. Conclusions: FPR, which is a simple analysis, can be of use to clinicians in predicting disease severity, the course, and prognosis of COVID-19 and can be easily used in clinical practice. With this ratio’s guidance, patients with a severe disease course and poor prognosis can be identified earlier. Thus healthcare resources can be assigned appropriately to suitable patients. Keywords: COVID-19, disease severity, ferritin/procalcitonin ratio

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