Table 2.
ARDS severity and laboratory findings of critical or severe COVID-19 cases with control and pulse steroid groups
| Variable | Control steroid (n=14) | Pulse steroid (n=30) | Total (n=44) | P-value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-steroid ARDS severitya) | 0.666 | |||
| Severe | 5 (35.7) | 15 (50.0) | 20 (45.5) | |
| Moderate | 8 (57.1) | 13 (43.3) | 21 (47.7) | |
| Mild | 1 (7.1) | 2 (6.7) | 3 (6.8) | |
| Post-steroid ARDS severitya) | 0.135 | |||
| Severe | 2 (14.3) | 3 (10.0) | 5 (11.4) | |
| Moderate | 7 (50.0) | 7 (23.3) | 14 (31.8) | |
| Mild | 2 (14.3) | 15 (50.0) | 17 (38.6) | |
| PF ratio >300 | 3 (21.4) | 5 (16.7) | 8 (18.2) | |
| Pre-steroid PF ratio | 130 (87–150) | 103 (71–130) | 112 (74–140) | 0.166 |
| Post-steroid PF ratio | 184 (144–277) | 219 (181–253) | 214 (156–257) | 0.496 |
| Pre-steroid lab | ||||
| Leukocyte (×103/ul) | 9.0 (8.1–11.4) | 9.3 (5.8–12.3) | 9.2 (5.9–12.3) | 0.920 |
| Neutrophil (%) | 85 (78–92) | 86 (77–93) | 85 (77–93) | 0.830 |
| Lymphocyte (%) | 7 (4–11) | 8 (3–14) | 8 (4–14) | 0.632 |
| Hematocrit (%) | 38 (35–44) | 38 (35–39) | 38 (35–39) | 0.427 |
| Platelet (×103/ul) | 158 (118–224) | 192 (154–219) | 175 (140–223) | 0.231 |
| CRP (mg/l) | 105 (44–139) | 95 (49–155) | 95 (45–145) | 0.980 |
| Procalcitonin (ng/ml) | 0.34 (0.10–0.46) | 0.14 (0.08–0.50) | 0.17 (0.08–0.49) | 0.313 |
| Lactate (mmol/L) | 1.9 (1.5–2.2) | 1.7 (1.3–2.2) | 1.8 (1.3–2.2) | 0.631 |
| BUN (mg/dl) | 17 (13–23) | 19 (15–25) | 19 (14–25) | 0.715 |
| Total bilirubin (mg/dl) | 0.6 (0.4–0.8) | 0.5 (0.3–0.8) | 0.5 (0.3–0.8) | 0.315 |
| Potassium (mmol/L) | 4.1 (3.6–4.8) | 4.1 (3.8–4.3) | 4.1 (3.7–4.4) | 0.920 |
| Glucose (mg/dl) | 137 (114–210) | 153 (131–184) | 153 (124–201) | 0.900 |
| Post-steroid lab | ||||
| Leukocyte (103/ul) | 8.8 (5.6–15.5) | 8.1 (6.9–10.2) | 8.7 (6.4–12.0) | 0.579 |
| Neutrophil (%) | 82 (74–89) | 87 (82–90) | 86 (79–90) | 0.252 |
| Lymphocyte (%) | 10 (3–15) | 7 (4–12) | 7 (4–13) | 0.435 |
| Hematocrit (%) | 39 (30–42) | 36 (34–39) | 36 (34–39) | 0.650 |
| Platelet (×103/ul) | 207 (117–263) | 233 (166–304) | 217 (159–282) | 0.445 |
| CRP (mg/l) | 4 (1–28) | 16 (6–36) | 12 (4–33) | 0.021b) |
| Procalcitonin (ng/ml) | 0.06 (0.02–0.16) | 0.05 (0.03–0.16) | 0.05 (0.02–0.16) | 0.607 |
| Lactate (mmol/L) | 1.6 (1.2–2.4) | 2.2 (1.8–2.6) | 2.1 (1.5–2.5) | 0.056 |
| BUN (mg/dl) | 28 (21–29) | 34 (21–35) | 26 (21–35) | 0.910 |
| Total bilirubin (mg/dl) | 0.8 (0.7–1.0) | 0.6 (0.4–0.7) | 0.7 (0.5–0.9) | 0.003b) |
| Potassium (mmol/L) | 4.1 (3.5–4.7) | 3.7 (3.3–3.9) | 3.7 (3.4–4.2) | 0.022b) |
| Glucose (mg/dl) | 136 (106–216) | 247 (197–302) | 220 (139–299) | 0.003b) |
Values are presented as number (%) or median (interquartile range).
COVID-19: coronavirus disease 2019; ARDS: acute respiratory distress syndrome; PF ratio: partial pressure of oxygen in arterial blood/fraction of inspired oxygen; CRP: C-reactive protein; BUN: blood urea nitrogen.
a)
ARDS severity was adopted from Berlin definition [15]: severe, defined as PF ratio ≤100; moderate, defined as 100< PF ratio ≤200; and mild, defined as 200< PF ratio ≤300;
b)
Mann-Whitney U-test for comparisons between the control and pulse steroid groups.