Background and Objectives: There are conflicting studies on the prevalence of mediastinal lymphadenopathy (LAP) and its relationship to the prognosis of COVID-19 disease. The prevalence varied from 3.4 to 66 percent and more prevalent in patients who died. This study aimed to investigate the mediastinal lymphadenopathy and the disease progression in COVID-19 patients. Materials and Methods: In this case-control study, 195 COVID-19 patients were divided into two groups, with the mediastinal lymphadenopathy and without it. In these groups, demographic characteristics, underlying diseases, laboratory results, and outcomes were compared. Results: The median age in the LAP group was higher than the opposite group (62 vs. 58.5;p= 0.037). SpO2 (85% vs. 90%;P <0.001), lymphocyte count (760 vs. 969;p= 0.02), Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio (5.53 vs. 4.41;p= 0.02), and ESR (36 vs. 29;p= 0.03) were significantly correlated with the presence of lymphadenopathy, using the Mann-Whitney Wilcoxon rank test. ICU admission (65.71% vs. 36.87;p= 0.003), mechanical ventilation (31.42% vs. 13.75%;p= 0.022), disease severity (65.71% vs. 40%;p <0.01), length of hospital stay (9 vs. 7;p= 0.039) and mortality rate (40% vs. 21.25%;p= 0.034) were more predominantly observed in the LAP group, using the χ2 test. There was no apparent difference in sex and the underlying diseases among the two groups. Conclusion: This observation showed a relatively high prevalence of mediastinal lymphadenopathy in COVID-19 patients, which was more common in the elderly with low oxygen saturation. Therefore, LAP may lead to further intensive care needs, more use of mechanical ventilation, high severity of disease, and mortality rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Iranian Journal of Microbiology is the property of Tehran University of Medical Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Mediastinal lymphadenopathy and prognosis of COVID-19 disease