Background and purpose: The treatment of COVID-19 patients has been mainly supportive. The possibility of the long-term persistence of the disease necessitates the identification of predictive factors to determine disease severity and improve patient outcomes. This study investigated the association between blood calcium levels and the severity and clinical outcomes of COVID-19.
Materials and methods: In this descriptive, cross-sectional study, data from 167 patients hospitalized at Sari Imam Khomeini Hospital, who were diagnosed with COVID-19 in 2021, were collected.
Results: The mean age of the patients was 57.35 ± 17.14 years, and the body mass index (BMI) was 28.08 ± 5.07 kg/m². Among the total patients, 116 (69.5%) had severe disease, with dyspnea being the most common symptom reported. The mean serum calcium level was 8.45 ± 0.88 mg/dL, and 75 patients (44.9%) presented with hypocalcemia. Statistical analysis revealed no significant association between serum calcium levels and variables including age, gender, length of hospital and/or ICU stay, leukopenia, degree of pulmonary involvement, disease severity, or mortality. The only inflammatory factor, C-reactive protein (CRP), was significantly higher in the hypocalcemia group than in the non-hypocalcemia group (P = 0.036).
Conclusion: Serum calcium alone is not sufficient for the management and assessment of COVID-19 patients, as serum calcium levels cannot serve as a prognostic marker for disease severity or mortality. Therefore, to better predict the severity of COVID-19 and its outcomes, it is necessary to examine multiple concurrent factors.