Table.
Patients' characteristics, by severity of disease
| Severe disease (n=10) | Mild disease (n=13) | p value | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age, years | 66 (39–75) | 56 (37–75) | 0·10 | |
| Sex | ||||
| Female | 4 (40%) | 6 (46%) | >0·99 | |
| Male | 6 (60%) | 7 (54%) | .. | |
| Chronic comorbidities | ||||
| Hypertension | 4 (40%) | 2 (15%) | 0·34 | |
| Chronic heart disease | 0 (0%) | 2 (15%) | 0·49 | |
| Chronic lung disease | 1 (10%) | 0 (0%) | 0·44 | |
| Chronic kidney disease | 1 (10%) | 0 (0%) | 0·44 | |
| Diabetes | 2 (20%) | 2 (15%) | >0·99 | |
| Gout | 2 (20%) | 0 (0%) | 0·18 | |
| Hyperlipidaemia | 2 (20%) | 0 (0%) | 0·18 | |
| None | 3 (30%) | 9 (69%) | 0·10 | |
| Presenting symptoms | ||||
| Fever | 10 (100%) | 12 (92%) | >0·99 | |
| Chills | 2 (20%) | 2 (15%) | >0·99 | |
| Dyspnoea | 4 (40%) | 0 (0%) | 0·024 | |
| Cough | 1 (10%) | 4 (31%) | 0·34 | |
| Runny nose | 1 (10%) | 1 (8%) | >0·99 | |
| Blocked nose | 0 (0%) | 1 (0%) | >0·99 | |
| Sore throat | 1 (10%) | 0 (0%) | 0·44 | |
| Chest discomfort | 1 (10%) | 0 (0%) | 0·44 | |
| Nausea | 1 (10%) | 0 (0%) | 0·44 | |
| Diarrhoea | 2 (20%) | 0 (0%) | 0·18 | |
| Myalgia | 2 (20%) | 0 (0%) | 0·18 | |
| Malaise | 2 (20%) | 1 (8%) | 0·56 | |
| Duration of symptoms before admission, days | 4 (0–13) | 4 (0–7) | 0·41 | |
| Blood tests on admission | ||||
| Haemoglobin, g/dL | 12·8 (11·6–14·5) | 13·5 (10·1–15·2) | 0·69 | |
| Haemoglobin <13·7 g/dL (male) or <11·9 g/dL (female) | 4 (40%) | 6 (46%) | >0·99 | |
| Total white blood cell count, × 109 per L | 5·1 (2·4–10·4) | 4·9 (3·3–8·1) | 0·83 | |
| Total white blood cells <3·7 × 109 per L | 2 (20%) | 2 (15%) | >0·99 | |
| Neutrophil count, × 109 per L | 3·6 (1·3–9·5) | 3·8 (2·0–5·2) | 0·78 | |
| Neutrophils >5·8 × 109 per L | 3 (30%) | 0 (0%) | 0·068 | |
| Lymphocyte count, × 109 per L | 0·65 (0·30–1·90) | 1·03 (0·57–2·25) | 0·088 | |
| Lymphocytes <1·0 × 109 per L | 8 (80%) | 5 (38%) | 0·090 | |
| Platelet count, × 109 per L | 170 (92–313) | 182 (144–356) | 0·34 | |
| Platelets <145 × 109 per L | 4 (40%) | 1 (8%) | 0·13 | |
| Sodium, mmol/L | 138 (128–142) | 139 (134–142) | 0·38 | |
| Sodium <136 mmol/L | 4 (40%) | 1 (8%) | 0·13 | |
| Potassium, mmol/L | 3·7 (3·1–5·3) | 3·8 (2·8–4·3) | 0·74 | |
| Potassium <3·4 mmol/L | 2 (20%) | 2 (15%) | >0·99 | |
| Urea, mmol/L | 3·9 (3·3–9·4) | 4·2 (2·1–9·9) | 0·74 | |
| Urea >7·4 mmol/L | 2 (20%) | 1 (8%) | 0·56 | |
| Creatinine, μmol/L | 76 (46–129) | 62 (54–126) | >0·99 | |
| Creatinine >110 μmol/L | 1 (10%) | 1 (8%) | >0·99 | |
| Alkaline phosphatase, U/L | 74 (56–149) | 60 (38–118) | 0·026 | |
| Alkaline phosphatase >97 U/L | 2 (20%) | 1 (8%) | 0·56 | |
| Alanine aminotransferase, U/L | 32 (16–88) | 26 (9–133) | 0·56 | |
| Alanine aminotransferase >53 U/L | 1 (10%) | 3 (23%) | 0·60 | |
| Viral load in respiratory tract specimens | ||||
| Initial viral load, log10 copies per mL (IQR) | 6·17 (4·18–7·13) | 5·11 (3·91–7·56) | 0·56 | |
| Peak viral load, log10 copies per mL (IQR) | 6·91 (4·27–7·40) | 5·29 (3·91–7·56) | 0·52 | |
| Viral RNA detection | ||||
| ≥20 days in saliva* | 4 (50%) | 3 (23%) | 0·35 | |
| Blood | 3 (30%) | 2 (15%) | 0·62 | |
| Rectal swab† | 3 (38%) | 1 (14%) | 0·57 | |
| Urine‡ | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | .. | |
Data are n (%) or median (range), unless otherwise stated. For statistical analyses, the Mann-Whitney U test was done for continuous variables and Fisher's exact test was done for categorical variables.
*
For severe disease, the total number of patients was eight (two patients died <20 days after symptom onset).
†
For severe disease, samples were available for eight patients; for mild disease, samples were available for seven patients.
‡
For severe and mild disease, samples were available for nine patients in each group.