Table 1. Comparison of patient demographics and clinical parameters between non-spreaders and spreaders, or usual-spreaders and super-spreaders during the 2015 Korean outbreak of MERS-CoV.
| Characteristics | Non-spreader (n = 171) | Spreader (n = 15) | P value | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Usual-spreader (n = 10) | Super-spreader (n = 5) | Non-spreader vs. spreader | Usual-spreader vs. super-spreader | ||
| Patient characteristics | |||||
| Age, mean (± SD) | 54.4 (± 16.2) | 54.4 (± 18.0) | 50.6 (± 19.3) | 0.780 | 0.689 |
| Male | 99 (57.9) | 8 (80.0) | 4 (80.0) | 0.108 | 1.000 |
| Underlying diseases | |||||
| DM | 33 (19.3) | 0 (0.0) | 1 (20.0) | 0.251 | 1.000 |
| Hypertension | 51 (29.8) | 3 (30.0) | 1 (20.0) | 0.797 | 0.682 |
| Chronic kidney diseases | 8 (4.7) | 1 (10.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0.732 | 1.000 |
| Chronic heart diseases | 15 (8.8) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0.999 | NA |
| Chronic lung diseases | 17 (9.9) | 2 (20.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0.679 | 0.999 |
| Chronic liver diseases | 9 (5.3) | 1 (10.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0.818 | 1.000 |
| Clinical characteristics at presentation | |||||
| Signs and symptoms* | |||||
| Fever (≥ 38.5℃) | 22 (13.0) | 5 (50.0) | 1 (20.0) | 0.009 | 0.280 |
| Systolic BP ≤ 90 mmHg | 9 (5.3) | 2 (20.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0.227 | 0.999 |
| Diastolic BP ≤ 60 mmHg | 28 (16.6) | 3 (30.0) | 1 (20.0) | 0.329 | 0.682 |
| Respiratory rate > 24/min | 21 (12.4) | 5 (50.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0.034 | 0.999 |
| Cough | 93 (55.0) | 9 (90.0) | 4 (80.0) | 0.031 | 0.598 |
| Sputum | 63 (37.3) | 9 (90.0) | 2 (40.0) | 0.011 | 0.062 |
| Dyspnea | 32 (18.9) | 6 (60.0) | 3 (60.0) | 0.001 | 1.000 |
| Myalgia | 71 (42.0) | 5 (50.0) | 3 (60.0) | 0.399 | 0.715 |
| Headache | 34 (20.1) | 1 (10.0) | 2 (40.0) | 0.991 | 0.199 |
| Diarrhea | 32 (18.9) | 1 (10.0) | 2 (40.0) | 0.920 | 0.199 |
| Laboratory tests | |||||
| WBC > 10,000 /μL or < 4,000 /μL† | 75 (46.6) | 4 (40.0) | 4 (80.0) | 0.617 | 0.165 |
| Platelet < 100,000 /μL† | 28 (17.4) | 3 (30.0) | 2 (40.0) | 0.140 | 0.699 |
| CRP ≥ 3.0 mg/dL‡ | 66 (43.4) | 8 (88.9) | 4 (80.0) | 0.008 | 0.653 |
| BUN > 20 mg/dL§ | 24 (15.4) | 4 (40.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0.267 | 0.999 |
| Creatinine > 1.5 mg/dL§ | 8 (5.1) | 1 (10.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0.799 | 1.000 |
| CXR abnormality in more than 3 lung zones∥ | 17 (10.3) | 5 (50.0) | 2 (40.0) | < 0.001 | 0.715 |
| Symptom onset to negative conversion, day, median (IQR)¶ | 17.0 (13.0–21.0) | 23.5 (17.8–28.3) | 32.0 (28.3–43.3) | < 0.001 | 0.129 |
| Clinical outcomes | |||||
| Mechanical ventilation* | 36 (21.3) | 7 (70.0) | 2 (40.0) | 0.002 | 0.274 |
| Days from symptom onset to mechanical ventilation, (IQR)* | 10.0 (7.0–12.0) | 6.5 (5.5–8.8) | 10.5 (9.0–12.0) | 0.221 | 0.159 |
| Mortality | 31 (18.1) | 4 (40.0) | 1 (20.0) | 0.162 | 0.447 |
| Days from symptom onset to death, median (IQR) | 15.0 (12.0–21.0) | 9.0 (3.8–9.0) | 5.0 (5.0–5.0) | 0.032 | 0.504 |
Data shown are number (%) not otherwise specified.
MERS-CoV = Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus, SD = standard deviation, DM = diabetes mellitus, NA = not available, BP = blood pressure, WBC = white blood cell, CRP = C-reactive protein, BUN = blood urea nitrogen, CXR = chest X-ray, IQR = interquartile range.
*Data were unavailable in 2 cases (1.1%); †Data were unavailable in 10 cases (5.4%); ‡Data were unavailable in 20 cases (10.8%); §Data were unavailable in 15 cases (8.1%); ∥Data were unavailable in 6 cases (3.2%); ¶Data were unavailable in 43 cases (23.1%).