Background: SARS-CoV-2, the virus that has spread globally, has infected hundreds of million persons and caused over 6.9 million deaths. It is frequently observed that COVID-19 patients experience disturbances in electrolytes homeostasis. Aim/Objective: The current study aimed to assess the serum electrolyte variations in patients with COVID-19 and their relationship to the severity. Methodology: Blood samples from 187 COVID-19 patients (mild=129 and severe=58) and 60 healthy individuals of the same age group as the study's control were collected. Serum was separated from collected blood samples to assess the levels of the electrolytes. The analysis was done using commercially available kits through a biochemistry analyzer, and obtained data were analyzed statistically through One-Way ANOVA using GraphPad Prism software. Results: Results from intergroup comparison showed that the levels of sodium and calcium were significantly (P≤0.001) low in patients' groups compared to controls. Potassium and magnesium levels in both the mild and severe patient groups also declined significantly (P≤0.01) compared to the control. However, phosphorous and chloride were not changed considerably in the patients.

Conclusion: It was concluded from the results that the COVID-19 infection has altered the serum electrolytes, which is linked with an enhanced risk of severity and mortality. Our results provide important markers of severity in COVID-19 patients, which may be used as promising clinical biomarkers for discriminatory diagnosis.

Index Terms- Electrolytes; COVID-19; Severity.