Characteristics and prognosis of patients with COVID-19 and hematological diseases in Japan: a cross-sectional study

Int J Hematol. 2024 Feb;119(2):183-195. doi: 10.1007/s12185-023-03685-w. Epub 2024 Jan 3.

Abstract

The Japanese Society of Hematology performed an observational cross-sectional study to clarify the morbidity, prognosis, and prognostic factors in patients with COVID-19 with hematological diseases (HDs) in Japan. The study included patients with HDs who enrolled in our epidemiological survey and had a COVID-19 diagnosis and a verified outcome of up to 2 months. The primary endpoints were characteristics and short-term prognosis of COVID-19 in patients with HDs. A total of 367 patients from 68 institutes were enrolled over 1 year, and the collected data were analyzed. The median follow-up among survivors was 73 days (range, 1-639 days). The 60-day overall survival (OS) rate was 86.6%. In the multivariate analysis, albumin ≤ 3.3 g/dL and a need for oxygen were independently associated with inferior 60-day OS rates (hazard ratio [HR] 4.026, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.954-8.294 and HR 14.55, 95% CI 3.378-62.64, respectively), whereas 60-day survival was significantly greater in patients with benign rather than malignant disease (HR 0.095, 95% CI 0.012-0.750). Together, these data suggest that intensive treatment may be necessary for patients with COVID-19 with malignant HDs who have low albumin levels and require oxygen at the time of diagnosis.

Keywords: COVID-19; Hematological disease; Japan; Japanese Society of Hematology.

MeSH terms

  • Albumins
  • COVID-19 Testing
  • COVID-19* / epidemiology
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Hematologic Diseases* / epidemiology
  • Humans
  • Japan / epidemiology
  • Oxygen
  • Prognosis
  • Retrospective Studies

Substances

  • Albumins
  • Oxygen