Red Blood Cell Shape and Deformability in Patients With COVID-19 Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome.

Acute respiratory distress syndrome due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is associated with high mortality. Several studies have reported that the microcirculation responds adequately to hypoxia in COVID-19 patients by increasing oxygen availability, in contrast to the inadequate response observed in patients with bacterial sepsis. Red blood cells (RBCs), the key cells for oxygen transport, and notably their rheology, are altered during bacterial sepsis, but few data are available in patients with COVID-19.