COVID-19 in 96 patients with hematologic disease: the first single center experience from the Czech Republic

Abstract Background: COVID-19 represents an important infectious complication associated with high mortality rates in patients with hematologic diseases. There have not been published any epidemiological studies from Czech Republic so far. Patients and methods: The objective of this study is the first analysis of patients with hematological malignancies and bone marrow failure syndromes treated at single hematology center in the Czech Republic between March 1 and December 31, 2020 in whom COVID-19 infection was confirmed. Results: The sample comprised 96 patients aged 26 to 84 years (median, 66.0 years). At the time of their COVID-19 diagnosis, 75 patients (78.1%) were treated for hematologic diseases. Twenty-seven patients (28.1%) in the sample had complete remission (CR) of their hematologic disease. They were non-significantly more likely to have asymptomatic to moderate COVID-19 infection than those who failed to achieve CR (74.1% vs. 56.5%, p=0.06). A more severe course of the infection was significantly correlated with older age (p=0.047). Lung involvement was also statistically significantly associated with older age (p=0.045). Over the study period, a total of 15 patients died. Age over 60 years was significantly associated with deaths from COVID-19 (p=0.036), with failure to achieve CR having a statistically non-significant impact on mortality (p=0.22). Conclusion: The study results confirm the prognostic significance of age for achieving treatment response of hematologic disease as well as the severity and mortality of COVID-19 in hematology patients.