High blood viscosity can predict higher risk of death in hospitalized COVID 19 patients

The large-scale study is the first to evaluate blood viscosity in the prediction of mortality in COVID-19 patients. A simple calculation of blood viscosity was more robust in the identification of hospitalized patients at risk for dying from COVID-19 complications when compared to common measures of inflammation and the blood clotting biomarker D-dimer. The study is published in Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Researchers looked at records of 5,621 COVID-19 patients from six hospitals in the Mount Sinai Health System between February 27, 2020, and November 27, 2021. All had clinical and laboratory-verified diagnoses of COVID 19 and were identified within 48 hours of hospitalization and followed until hospital discharge or death.

Hospitalized patients who had high blood viscosity had a 60 percent higher death rate with blood viscosity measured under high flow conditions such as the arteries and 32 percent higher mortality with blood viscosity measured at low flow such as the microcirculation (blood circulation in the smallest vessels), than patients with a low blood viscosity.

Blood viscosity is elevated by acute phase reactants (fibrinogen, macroglobulins) that have been associated with acute COVID-19 infections. Blood viscosity is an integrated measure of these acute phase reactants and the cellular components that can increase during infection. When the blood viscosity is high, physicians may consider therapeutic heparin for patients, hydration, or intensification of glucocorticoids to lessen the severity of the acute phase response to COVID-19.

This study demonstrates the importance of checking for blood viscosity in COVID-19 patients early in hospital admission, which is easily obtained through routine lab work. Results can help determine the best treatment course for at-risk patients and help improve outcomes, concluded the researchers.

Reference: "High blood viscosity can predict higher risk of death in hospitalized COVID-19 patients"; THE MOUNT SINAI HOSPITAL / MOUNT SINAI SCHOOL OF MEDICINE, Journal of the American College of Cardiology.