Drug Administrations for Patients Improves Hematologic Values in Fighting COVID-19 at Private Hospital in Jakarta, Indonesia

No specific drugs have been found for the COVID-19 pandemic until now. The drug administration follows the national standards imposed to prevent the worsening of the patient's condition in the hope of recovery. The purpose of this study was to look at the effect of drug administration on hematologic parameters before and after the administration of drugs. This research method is cohort-based observational with the collection of retrospective medical record data from March to October 2020 at the Central Jakarta Private Hospital, Indonesia. The results showed improvement values in hematologic parameter values in eosinophils, neutrophils, monocytes, and neutrophil-lymphocyte ratios, and statistically, the parameter of eosinophils values is a significant difference after administering the drug.

Neutrophil Volume Distribution Width: A New Automated Hematologic Parameter for Acute Infection

Context.—The number of band forms and immature neutrophils increases during acute bacterial infection. However, the determination of band counts and other neutrophil morphologic changes, such as the presence of toxic granulation, toxic vacuolization, and Dohle bodies in the cytoplasm, is labor intensive and time consuming, as it requires manual examination by an experienced medical technologist. Objective.—To investigate the value of the neutrophil volume distribution width (NDW), generated by VCS technology of the Coulter LH 750 hematology analyzer, as an additional predictor of acute infection. Design.—Total white blood cell count, percentage of neutrophils, and NDW data from 70 patients with positive blood cultures for bacteria and from 35 age-matched control subjects were retrospectively analyzed. Results.—A significant increase in the NDW was observed in the bacteremic patients compared with the controls (24.7 ± 4.5 vs 19.0 ± 1.5; P < .001). Such increase was observed even in patients with white blood cell counts less than 11 000/μL (23.0 ± 5.6 vs 19.0 ± 1.5; P < .001) or with percentages of neutrophils less than 85% (24.0 ± 4.9 vs 19.0 ± 1.5; P < .001). The more dramatic increases were seen in patients with leukocytosis (25.7 ± 3.2, P < .001) or with neutrophilia (25.9 ± 3.4, P < .001). Using an NDW cutoff of 23, a 100% specificity and a 69% sensitivity were achieved. Conclusions.—As a quantitative parameter, the NDW has potential for use as an additional indicator for diagnosing acute infection.

Cocaine administration induces human splenic constriction and altered hematologic parameters

Cocaine is a potent vasoconstrictor that has been shown to alter hemoglobin, hematocrit, and red blood cell counts in both animals and humans. The present study evaluated whether cocaine administration induces splenic constriction in men and whether spleen-volume changes temporally correlate with altered hematologic parameters. Spleen volume was assessed at baseline and after cocaine administration (0.4 mg/kg) by using magnetic resonance imaging. A group of five healthy men, aged 31 ± 2 (SE) yr and reporting occasional cocaine use (13 ± 5 lifetime exposures), participated. Cocaine reduced spleen volume by 20 ± 4% ( P < 0.03) 10 min after drug administration. Spleen volume returned to normal (101 ± 3% baseline) within 35 min after cocaine administration, indicating that the reduction is a transient phenomenon. In subjects administered cocaine from whom blood samples were obtained ( n = 3), cocaine increased hemoglobin levels, hematocrit, and red blood cell count to 104.5 ± 0.9, 105.6 ± 1.2, and 106.5 ± 1.0% of baseline levels, respectively ( P < 0.03), but it did not alter white blood cell and platelet counts. Placebo administration ( n = 5) did not alter hematologic parameters. These results suggest that cocaine induces splenic constriction in humans, and this may contribute to temporally concordant hematologic parameter changes. These events may help to preserve or increase tissue oxygenation in periods of high oxygen demand and/or increased vascular resistance.