Table 2.
Characteristics at emergency department presentation, in-hospital treatments, and clinical outcomes in the study cohort.
| Viral Swab-Tested Patients (N = 652) |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Variable | Viral Swab Positive with Coinfection (A) N = 103 |
Viral Swab POSITIVE without Coinfection (B) N= 154 |
Viral Swab Positive Without Coinfection and Viral Swab Negative (C) N = 549 |
p-Value (A) vs. (B) |
p-Value (A) vs. (C) |
| Isolated pathogens | |||||
| SARS-CoV-2, n (%) | 40 (38.8) | 29 (18.8) | 29 (5.3) | <0.001 | <0.001 |
| Influenza A, n (%) | 26 (25.2) | 75 (48.7) | 75 (13.7) | <0.001 | 0.003 |
| RSV, n (%) | 25 (24.3) | 36 (23.4) | 36 (6.6) | 0.492 | <0.001 |
| Other viruses, n (%) | 12 (11.6) | 14 (9.1) | 14 (2.5) | 0.321 | <0.001 |
| Imaging | |||||
| Chest X-ray infiltrates, n (%) | 44 (43.6) | 40 (27.2) | 157 (29.8) | 0.009 | 0.010 |
| Lobar pneumonia, n (%) | 17 (16.8) | 18 (12.1) | 90 (17) | 0.353 | 1.000 |
| Bilateral pneumonia, n (%) | 26 (25.7) | 20 (13.4) | 53 (8.4) | 0.019 | <0.001 |
| Interstitial pneumonia, n (%) | 29 (28.7) | 27 (18.1) | 56 (10.6) | 0.063 | <0.001 |
| Pleural effusion, n (%) | 14 (13.9) | 13 (8.7) | 86 (16.3) | 0.217 | 0.656 |
| Clinical presentation | |||||
| Respiratory rate, bpm | 21 (19–28) | 22 (18–26) | 20 (18–26) | 0.758 | 0.279 |
| Respiratory rate ≥ 24 bpm, n (%) | 30 (42.3) | 38 (42.2) | 135 (24.6) | 0.562 | 0.352 |
| SBP, mmHg | 130 (120–142) | 140 (125–150) | 131 (120–150) | 0.007 | 0.281 |
| SBP ≤ 130 mmHg, n (%) | 58 (56.3) | 57 (37.0) | 258 (47.0) | 0.002 | 0.068 |
| SBP ≤ 100 mmHg, n (%) | 6 (6.1) | 5 (3.4) | 29 (5.3) | 0.251 | 0.502 |
| Heart rate, beats/min | 88 (78–108) | 90 (80–101) | 90 (78–101) | 0.569 | 0.754 |
| Heart rate ≥100 beats/min, n (%) | 30 (30.6) | 47 (31.1) | 168 (30.6) | 0.523 | 0.443 |
| Fever, n (%) | 55 (55.0) | 88 (57.5) | 242 (45.2) | 0.699 | 0.081 |
| Confusion, n (%) | 23 (23.7) | 24 (15.9) | 97 (18.1) | 0.137 | 0.206 |
| Acute respiratory failure, n (%) | 60 (58.3) | 76 (49.4) | 257 (46.8) | 0.202 | 0.041 |
| PaO2/FiO2, mmHg | 268 (224–313) | 276 (233–326) | 276 (227–322) | 0.417 | 0.579 |
| Type 1 aRF, n (%) | 46 (44.7) | 59 (38.3) | 196 (35.7) | 0.365 | 0.096 |
| Type 2 aRF, n (%) | 12 (11.7) | 18 (11.7) | 65 (11.8) | 1.000 | 1.000 |
| Sodium, mmol/L | 137 (134–140) | 138 (135–139) | 138 (135–140) | 0.952 | 0.283 |
| Glicaemia, mg/dL | 122 (99–167) | 116 (103–140) | 118 (100–151) | 0.565 | 0.577 |
| CRP, mg/L | 75 (36–162) | 53 (23–117) | 62 (22–138) | 0.026 | 0.064 |
| CRP ≤ 20 mg/L, n (%) | 14 (13.6) | 33 (21.4) | 127 (23.1) | 0.078 | 0.024 |
| White blood cells, cells/µL | 9020 (7128–13.553) | 8050 (5758–10,833) | 9820 (7080–12,970) | 0.010 | 0.760 |
| WBC ≥ 8000 cells/µL, n (%) | 65 (63.7) | 78 (52) | 364 (66.3) | 0.043 | 0.311 |
| Urea, mmol/L | 53 (37–95) | 46 (36–62) | 45 (32–69) | 0.160 | 0.095 |
| Creatinine, µmol/L | 0.96 (0.76–1.63) | 0.91 (0.72–1.15) | 0.94 (0.73–1.30) | 0.074 | 0.320 |
| Aspartate transaminase, IU/L | 19 (11–35) | 21 (15–34) | 20 (13–33) | 0.143 | 0.438 |
| Shock, n (%) | 9 (8.8) | 1 (0.7) | 20 (3.6) | 0.001 | 0.033 |
| Sepsis, n (%) | 13 (12.7) | 1 (0.7) | 47 (8.6) | <0.001 | 0.195 |
| In-hospital treatment | |||||
| Antibiotics, n (%) | 88 (87.1) | 102 (67.5) | 419 (77.9) | <0.001 | 0.044 |
| Systemic corticosteroids, n (%) | 66 (65.3) | 82 (54.7) | 248 (46.6) | 0.116 | <0.001 |
| Inhaled corticosteroids, n (%) | 46 (45.5) | 82 (54.7) | 241 (45.3) | 0.160 | 1.000 |
| Oseltamivir, n (%) | 20 (19.4) | 52 (33.8) | 60 (10.9) | 0.016 | 0.021 |
| Other antivirals, n (%) | 30 (29.1) | 16 (10.5) | 34 (6.3) | <0.001 | <0.001 |
| Respiratory support | |||||
| Oxygen therapy, n (%) | 85 (82.5) | 103 (66.9) | 360 (65.6) | 0.006 | <0.001 |
| HFNC, n (%) | 17 (16.5) | 5 (3.2) | 38 (6.9) | <0.001 | 0.003 |
| CPAP, n (%) | 17 (16.5) | 11 (7.1) | 35 (6.4) | 0.024 | 0.001 |
| NIV, n (%) | 14 (13.6) | 10 (6.5) | 41 (7.5) | 0.079 | 0.052 |
| ETI, n (%) | 17 (16.5) | 5 (3.2) | 27 (4.9) | <0.001 | <0.001 |
| Outcomes | |||||
| Length of stay, days | 25 (14–37) | 8 (3–13) | 10 (5–18) | <0.001 | <0.001 |
| Time to coinfection, days | 3 (2–9) | - | 5 (2–9) | - | 0.391 |
| Severe disease, n (%) | 91 (88.3) | 104 (67.5) | 379 (69.0) | <0.001 | <0.001 |
| Time to ICU admission, days | 3 (1–5) | 1 (1–5) | 1 (0–4) | 0.250 | 0.268 |
| ICU, n (%) | 21 (20.4) | 6 (3.9) | 29 (5.3) | <0.001 | <0.001 |
| Tracheostomy, n (%) | 11 (10.8) | 1 (0.6) | 9 (1.6) | <0.001 | <0.001 |
| In-hospital death, n (%) | 17 (16.5) | 5 (3.2) | 44 (8.0) | <0.001 | 0.010 |
| ICU death, n (%) | 17 (16.5) | 5 (3.2) | 44 (8.0) | <0.001 | 0.010 |
Patients with a confirmed viral infection are grouped into patients with (column A) or without (column B) a coinfection. Patients with a positive viral swab and a coinfection were compared with the rest of the tested patients (column C). Data are reported as median (interquartile range) if not stated otherwise. aRF = acute respiratory failure; CRP = C reactive protein; ICU = Intensive Care Unit; ETI = Endotracheal Intubation; NIV = non-invasive ventilation; CPAP = continuous positive airway pressure; HFNC = high flow nasal cannula; ICS = inhaled corticosteroids; FiO2 = fractional inhaled oxygen; PaO2 = arterial partial pressure of oxygen; RSV = Respiratory Syncytial Virus; SARS-CoV-2 = severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; SBP = systolic blood pressure; WBC = white blood cell count. Statistically significant differences are highlighted in bold.