Texila International Journal of Public Health ISSN: 2520-3134 DOI: 10.21522/TIJPH.2013.09.03.Art0010 *Corresponding Author: adisababa84@hotmail.com Assessment of Coagulopathy, Inflammation and LDH Activity in SARS- CoV-2-infected Patients Ajibola Adisa 1* , Moses Akiibinu 2 1 Department of Publich Health, Texila American University, Guyana 2 Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Caleb University, Lagos, Nigeria Abstract The patho-physiology of COVID19 is still not clear. This study investigated the status of coagulation, LDH activity, and inflammation in SARS-CoV-2 infected patients. One hundred and thirty-four newly diagnosed COVID19 infected patients (age ranged65-82years) attending Mullingar Regional Hospital, Mullingar, Republic of Ireland, volunteered to participate in this study. They all presented with a pulmonary disorder, pyrexia, vomiting, body pains, etc. SARS-CoV-2 confirmatory test was done with RT-PCR molecular test using Cepheid Genexpert System. The data of another 121 plasma samples of apparently normal, non-COVID19 infected individuals taken before the emergence of COVID19 served as controls. Levels of blood platelets was determined in the participants using Siemen ADVIA 2120 Haematological System, and plasma D-dimer was determined in the participants using Star Max- Stago–Automatic Coagulation Analyzer LDH activity, plasma ferritin, and C-reactive protein (CRP) were determined in the participants using Beckman AU680-Chemistry Analyser. SARS-CoV-2 –infected patients showed significantly (p<0.001) higher levels of D-dimer (1522.95+1395.45ng/ml), CRP (125.3+116.4mg/l), ferritin (488.5+514.9pg/l), and LDH activity (574.4+446.7iu/l) compared to controls (78.8+18.1ng/ml, 2.4+1.7mg/l, 61.3+58.2pg/l, 304.1+76.6iu/l respectively). The blood platelet count did not show significant (p>0.05) change in the COVID19 patients (252.2 x 10 9 +101 x 10 9 ) compared to controls (256.4 x 10 9 +63.2 x 10 9 ). Elevated LDH activity could indicate tissue breakdown in the SARS-Cov-2 infected patients. Hyper-coagulation and inflammation are imminent in the COVID19 patients. Adjuvant anticoagulant and anti-inflammatory therapies may be useful as part of therapeutic regimen in the SARS-CoV-2 infected patients. Keywords: COVID19, Coagulopathy, CRP and ferritin, LDH. Introduction COVID-19 is a disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). The virus has the ability to spread via natural aerosols from human to human and mother to child during pregnancy [1]. SARS-CoV-2 has been found in stool, aerosols, and blood. Sustained human-to-human transmission through inhalation or contact with infected droplets enhances the pandemicity with an incubation period ranging from 2 to 14 days [2]. The disease is mild (asymptomatic) in most people; and may progress to pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), septic shock, metabolic acidosis, and multi-organ dysfunction in some (usually the elderly and those with co-morbidities) [3]. The virus binds to the angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 molecule, highly expressed on the epithelium of the nasopharyngeal airway, type II pneumocytes of the alveoli, vascular endothelial cells, and the macrophages of the lung tissue of the host [3]. Increased levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukins (IL), IL-1, and IL-6, have been reported as products of cellular activation in severe SARS-Cov-2 infection [4, 5]. The 1