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Article

First insight into eosinophils as a biomarker for the early distinction of COVID-19 from influenza A in outpatients

  • Authors:
    • Chuangjie Cao
    • Haitao Xie
    • Ruohan Guo
    • Chengyun Dou
    • Jian Tang
  • View Affiliations / Copyright

    Affiliations: Department of Pathology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan 421001, P.R. China, Department of Clinical Laboratory Medicine, Institution of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan 421001, P.R. China, Department of Infectious Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan 421001, P.R. China
  • Article Number: 56
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    Published online on: January 22, 2025
       https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2025.12806
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Abstract

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and influenza A outbreaks have spread rapidly in China. It is difficult to accurately differentiate these two different respiratory tract infections on the basis of their similar early-stage symptoms and lymphocytopenia. In the present study, the age, sex and white blood cell, neutrophil, lymphocyte, monocyte and eosinophil counts, as well as the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) of 201 outpatients with confirmed COVID-19 and 246 outpatients with influenza A were investigated and compared. A receiver operating characteristic curve was drawn to determine the thresholds in distinguishing COVID-19 from influenza A Our study found that the monocyte count and NLR were significantly elevated, while the eosinophil count/percentage was higher in outpatients with COVID-19 than in those with influenza A (0.06±0.07 vs. 0.04±0.09, P=0.002; 0.95±1.12 vs. 0.56±0.95, P<0.001, respectively). Logit(P)=-1.11 + 1.29 x eosinophil percentage -12.07 x eosinophil count +1.10 x monocyte count, deduced from the eosinophil count/percentage and monocyte count, had the largest area under the curve at 0.67, with high specificity (80.1%) and a sensitivity of 47.3%. The present study demonstrated that a higher eosinophil count/percentage may be a potential biomarker to significantly differentiate early COVID-19 from influenza A.
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Copy and paste a formatted citation
Spandidos Publications style
Cao C, Xie H, Guo R, Dou C and Tang J: First insight into eosinophils as a biomarker for the early distinction of COVID-19 from influenza A in outpatients. Exp Ther Med 29: 56, 2025.
APA
Cao, C., Xie, H., Guo, R., Dou, C., & Tang, J. (2025). First insight into eosinophils as a biomarker for the early distinction of COVID-19 from influenza A in outpatients. Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine, 29, 56. https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2025.12806
MLA
Cao, C., Xie, H., Guo, R., Dou, C., Tang, J."First insight into eosinophils as a biomarker for the early distinction of COVID-19 from influenza A in outpatients". Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine 29.3 (2025): 56.
Chicago
Cao, C., Xie, H., Guo, R., Dou, C., Tang, J."First insight into eosinophils as a biomarker for the early distinction of COVID-19 from influenza A in outpatients". Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine 29, no. 3 (2025): 56. https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2025.12806
Copy and paste a formatted citation
x
Spandidos Publications style
Cao C, Xie H, Guo R, Dou C and Tang J: First insight into eosinophils as a biomarker for the early distinction of COVID-19 from influenza A in outpatients. Exp Ther Med 29: 56, 2025.
APA
Cao, C., Xie, H., Guo, R., Dou, C., & Tang, J. (2025). First insight into eosinophils as a biomarker for the early distinction of COVID-19 from influenza A in outpatients. Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine, 29, 56. https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2025.12806
MLA
Cao, C., Xie, H., Guo, R., Dou, C., Tang, J."First insight into eosinophils as a biomarker for the early distinction of COVID-19 from influenza A in outpatients". Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine 29.3 (2025): 56.
Chicago
Cao, C., Xie, H., Guo, R., Dou, C., Tang, J."First insight into eosinophils as a biomarker for the early distinction of COVID-19 from influenza A in outpatients". Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine 29, no. 3 (2025): 56. https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2025.12806
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