Objective: COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) still continues to be a major problem all over the world. In this study, it was
aimed to evaluate the relationship of cycle threshold (Ct) values, which is determined by real-time polymerase
chain reaction (RT-PCR), with the levels of white blood cell counts (WBCs), neutrophils (NEU), lymphocytes
(LYM), eosinophils (EOS), red blood cells (RBC), platelets (PLT), D-dimer, ferritin, C-reactive protein (CRP), lactate
dehydrogenase (LDH) and procalcitonin (PCT) levels in patients hospitalized in Covid wards and intensive care
units.
Methods: The study included a total of 354 patients hospitalized in the wards and intensive care units. The
patients were dichotomized into two as those with Ct≤24 and with Ct>24 compared in terms of laboratory tests
taken at the time of hospitalization and also, the differences between laboratory tests taken at the time of
hospitalization and seven days after hospitalization were also evaluated in these patients.
Results: The results showed that the only difference was in WBC levels between pthe atients with Ct≤24 and
Ct>24. In patients with Ct≤24, the results showed that there was a significant difference in WBC, EOS, RBC, PLT,
D-dimer, CRP, and LDH levels between at the time of hospitalization and after seven days of hospitalization. In
patients with Ct>24, this difference was in WBC, LYM, EOS, RBC, PLT, D-dimer, ferritin, and CRP levels.
Conclusion: Based on these results, it can be suggested that Ct values are not useful in terms of reflecting the
clinical status of patients.