Elevated whole blood viscosity in patients hospitalised with COVID-19 is associated with a more than 50% increased risk of death, results from the first large-scale study of its kind show.

According to US researchers, estimated high-shear blood viscosity — calculated via routine lab tests — could be used as a risk assessment tool to offer preventive therapy in this setting.

“As new emerging antiviral agents suggest benefits in patients at high risk of progressing to severe illness, identifying high-risk populations in the earlier stage of the disease becomes crucial,” they wrote.

In their retrospective observational study, the Mount Sinai Medical Center-led team in New York City used data from 5600 adults to determine the link between abnormal haemodynamics and death from COVID-19.