Abstract
Background: Dyschloremia is one of the most prevalent abnormalities that is highly associated with a high level of mortality in intensive care unit (ICU) patients. The current study evaluated serum chloride levels in COVID-19 patients hospitalized in the ICU.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 245 patients with severe COVID-19 who were admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU). Electrolytes, albumin, liver function test, complete blood count, serum chloride, and VBG were among the laboratory markers compared. The Chi-square, t-test, and logistic regression models were used to examine the relationship between these markers and the key outcomes, which included severity, mortality, intubation, and hospitalization.
Findings: The Mean±SD age of patients was 58.16±17 years. The mean serum chloride level in the studied patients was 109.6±5.1 with a range of 100-134. According to the regression logistic model, variables like age, intubation status, pH, and chlorine levels significantly affected the outcome of COVID-19 disease. Patients with acidosis were 4.7 times more likely to die than those with alkalosis (P<0.001). The chance of dying in hyperchloremia is 2.38 times more compared to the normochloremia group (P<0.009).
Conclusion: Patients with severe COVID-19 may present with chlorine abnormalities, including hyperchloremia. Hyperchloremia is also associated with poor clinical outcomes and a higher mortality risk. This relationship was independent of acid-base disorder.
Keywords
COVID-19 Chloride Critical illness Dyschloremia Intensive care unit (ICU) Mortality
Copyright
© 2024, Journal of Inflammatory Diseases. This open-access article is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 (CC BY-NC 4.0) International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which allows for the copying and redistribution of the material only for noncommercial purposes, provided that the original work is properly cited.