Eosinopenia; a Predictor of Non-Respiratory COVID-19

Aims Eosinopenia is a form of agranulocytosis where the number of eosinophil granulocytes is lower than expected, which is observed in many viral and bacterial infections. This study aimed to investigate eosinopenia in non-respiratory COVID-19 patients. Materials & Methods This experimental study was conducted on COVID-19 patients who had the positive PCR test in an outpatient clinic in Al-Feiha Teaching Hospital in Basrah, Iraq. One hundred four patients were selected from June to November 2020. Full blood counts and estimation of the inflammatory marker C-reactive protein were done. The Chi-square statistical test in SPSS 20 software was used for data analysis. Findings Eosinopenia observed in 47 patients (45.1%); 20 patients (19%) were respiratory COVID-19 and 27 patients (26%) were non-respiratory COVID-19. Total white blood cell count reduced in 17 patients & increased in 30 patients while normal in 57 patients. Logistic regression analysis indicated that eosinopenia is a significant independent predictor of nonrespiratory COVID-19 infection (p=0.008; B=0.0001). Conclusion Eosinopenia is a predictor of COVID-19 infection in patients with non-respiratory illnesses.