Journal of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases

en Evaluation of Diagnostic Markers in Neurological Patients with COVID-19 Other Other Original article Original article <div style="text-align: justify;">Introduction: The interaction between COVID-19 and pre-existing neurological diseases remains poorly understood, highlighting the need to identify key prognostic markers. This study aimed to characterize the clinical and laboratory profiles and identify predictors of peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO₂) in hospitalized patients with pre-existing neurological disorders and COVID-19. Methods: This retrospective observational study included 128 hospitalized patients with pre-existing neurological disorders and confirmed COVID-19 at Taleghani Educational Hospital in Abadan, Iran, from March 2020 to March 2022. Demographic, clinical, and laboratory data were extracted from the Hospital Information System and patient files. Results: On average, patients exhibited elevated levels of key laboratory markers, including renal (creatinine, BUN), hepatic (ALP, direct bilirubin, AST, ALT), coagulation (PT, aPTT, INR), and inflammatory (ESR) markers. The mean peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO₂) was below the normal range (91.71 ± 7.88%). Multivariable linear regression revealed that in-hospital mortality (B = −5.93; P < 0.001), higher respiratory rate (B = −0.10 per breath/min; P = 0.03), and intubation (B = −5.58; P = 0.001) were significantly associated with lower SpO₂ levels. Conclusion: In this cohort of neurological patients with COVID-19, dysregulation of renal, hepatic, and coagulation markers was common. Critically, lower SpO₂ levels were observed in patients with adverse outcomes, including mortality, respiratory distress, and the need for mechanical ventilation. These findings underscore the importance of monitoring these specific biomarkers and SpO₂ to improve risk stratification and guide clinical management in this high-risk patient population.</div>   Biomarkers, Coagulation markers, COVID-19, Liver markers, Neurological disorders, Renal markers, SpO₂ 17 23 http://jommid.pasteur.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-669-1&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Tina Eghdampanah Foumani tina.eghdam@gmail.com 0000-0001-6162-9724 No Student Research Committee, Abadan University of Medical Sciences (AUMS), Abadan, Iran Naser Kamyari n.kamyari@yahoo.com 0000-0001-6245-5447 No Department of Public Health, School of Health, Abadan University of Medical Sciences, Abadan, Iran Mohammad Mehdi Shadrvan shadravanmehdi1380@gmail.com 0000-0002-0229-575X No Student Research Committee of Abadan University of Medical Sciences, Abadan, Iran Fatemeh Khishvand fatemekhishvand31@gmail.com 0000-0002-0550-7105 No Student Research Committee of Abadan University of Medical Sciences, Abadan, Iran Fatemeh Shahroud Dezful fatemeh.shahrood77@gmail.com 0009-0001-2066-0351 No Student Research Committee of Abadan University of Medical Sciences, Abadan, Iran Khadijeh Kanani khadijekanani@gmail.com 0000-0003-4584-0460 No Clinical Research Development Unit,Taleghani Educational Hospital, Abadan University of Medical Sciences, Abadan, Iran Atefeh Zahedi atefe.zahedi@gmail.com 0000-0002-8635-0575 No Department of Public Health, Asadabad School of Medical Sciences, Asadabad, Iran Sara Mobarak dr.mobarak92@gmail.com 0000-0002-4530-1080 No Department of Infectious Diseases, School of Medicine, Abadan University of Medical Sciences, Abadan, Iran Esmat Radmanesh esmatradmanesh33@gmail.com 0000-0003-1369-6580 Yes Department of Physiology, Abadan University of Medical Sciences, Abadan, Iran