Table 2.
Hematological and radiological changes in 575 patients admitted to hospital following emergency department presentation with viral respiratory tract infection
| Variable | Non-SARS viral respiratory tract infection (n = 253) | SARS respiratory tract infection (n = 322) | p-valuea |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type of laboratory test, mean±SD | |||
| Time from symptom onset to laboratory testing (days) | 3.0 ± 4.8 | 4.0 ± 3.1 | 0.21 |
| Hemoglobin (g/dl) | 12.8 ± 1.9 | 13.4 ± 1.5 | 0.01 |
| Platelet count (×109/l) | 193 ± 70 | 192 ± 68 | 0.79 |
| Leukocyte count (×109/l) | 9.1 ± 3.7 | 6.1 ± 3.0 | <0.01 |
| Neutrophil count (×109/l) | 7.4 ± 3.6 | 4.6 ± 2.8 | <0.01 |
| Lymphocyte count (×109/l) | 0.9 ± 0.5 | 0.9 ± 0.4 | 0.93 |
| Monocyte count (×109/l) | 0.7 ± 0.4 | 0.5 ± 0.3 | <0.01 |
| Time from symptom onset to positive chest radiograph in days, mean±SD | 3.5 ± 4.2 | 6.1 ± 5.5 | 0.02 |
| Radiologically confirmed pneumonia, no. (%) of patients | 77 (30) | 305 (95) | <0.01 |
| Type of radiological finding, no. (%) of patients | |||
| Ground-glass appearance | 13 (17) | 298 (98) | <0.01 |
| Consolidation | 47 (61) | NA | |
| Unspecified | 17 (7) | 6 (2) | |
| Pleural effusion, no. (%) of patients | |||
| None | 239 (95) | 322 (100) | <0.01 |
| Left | 6 (3) | 0 | |
| Right | 4 (2) | 0 | |
| Bilateral | 4 (2) | 0 | |
NA not applicable
aChi-square test, Fisher’s exact test or students t test, as appropriate.