Table 1. Characteristics of 3481 Patients Who Tested Positive for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (Covid-19) by April 11, 2020.*.
| Characteristic | White Non-Hispanic (N=1030) |
Black Non-Hispanic (N=2451) |
|---|---|---|
| Age — yr | 55.5±18.5 | 53.6±16.1 |
| Sex — no. (%) | ||
| Male | 471 (45.7) | 923 (37.7) |
| Female | 559 (54.3) | 1528 (62.3) |
| Insurance — no. (%) | ||
| Commercial | 590 (57.3) | 1155 (47.1) |
| Medicare | 283 (27.5) | 673 (27.5) |
| Medicaid | 52 (5.0) | 367 (15.0) |
| Other, such as workers’ compensation | 13 (1.3) | 29 (1.2) |
| Uninsured or self-pay | 88 (8.5) | 224 (9.1) |
| Unknown | 4 (0.4) | 3 (0.1) |
| Residence in low-income area — no. (%) | 299 (29.0) | 1394 (56.9) |
| Coexisting conditions† | ||
| Charlson Comorbidity Index score‡ | 0.58±1.32 | 0.93±1.84 |
| Obesity — no. (%)§ | 407 (39.5) | 1320 (53.9) |
| Asthma — no. (%) | 39 (3.8) | 103 (4.2) |
| COPD — no. (%) | 20 (1.9) | 59 (2.4) |
| Diabetes — no. (%) | 112 (10.9) | 454 (18.5) |
| Hypertension — no. (%) | 246 (23.9) | 828 (33.8) |
| Congestive heart failure — no. (%) | 24 (2.3) | 104 (4.2) |
| Coronary artery disease — no. (%) | 46 (4.5) | 93 (3.8) |
| Chronic kidney disease — no. (%) | 47 (4.6) | 231 (9.4) |
| Solid-organ transplant — no. (%) | 0 | 18 (0.7) |
| Chronic liver disease — no. (%) | 29 (2.8) | 30 (1.2) |
| Cancer — no. (%) | 46 (4.5) | 112 (4.6) |
| HIV — no. (%) | 1 (0.1) | 6 (0.2) |
| Outpatient medications — no. (%) | ||
| Glucocorticoids | 104 (10.1) | 256 (10.4) |
| Immune modulators | 6 (0.6) | 23 (0.9) |
| Chemotherapy | 9 (0.9) | 22 (0.9) |
| Symptoms when tested — no. (%)¶ | ||
| Fever | 279 (27.1) | 906 (37.0) |
| Cough | 185 (18.0) | 520 (21.2) |
| Dyspnea or shortness of breath | 73 (7.1) | 270 (11.0) |
| Abdominal pain or diarrhea | 14 (1.4) | 49 (2.0) |
| Myalgia | 20 (1.9) | 29 (1.2) |
| Location of testing — no. (%) | ||
| Primary care | 222 (21.6) | 337 (13.7) |
| Urgent care | 196 (19.0) | 215 (8.8) |
| Emergency department | 391 (38.0) | 1601 (65.3) |
| Inpatient | 27 (2.6) | 77 (3.1) |
| Other or unknown service area‖ | 194 (18.8) | 221 (9.0) |
Plus–minus values are means ±SD. Race and ethnic group were reported by the patient. Percentages may not total 100 because of rounding. COPD denotes chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and HIV the human immunodeficiency virus.
Absence of diagnoses recorded in the medical record was assumed to mean absence of the conditions.
The score on the Charlson Comorbidity Index predicts the risk of death within 1 year after hospital admission. It is calculated on the basis of the presence of 17 conditions, each of which is assigned a weighted score of 1, 2, 3, or 6. The maximum score is 29. Higher scores indicate more coexisting conditions and a higher risk of death.
Obesity was determined by the presence of diagnosis codes or a body-mass index (BMI) of 30 or more that was recorded during previous clinical encounters (1727 patients had a BMI of ≥30; 1071 had a BMI of <30; and 683 had missing data).
Diagnostic codes linked to the clinical encounter in which the qualitative polymerase-chain-reaction assay for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19) was performed were used to ascertain the presence of symptoms.
A total of 95 Covid-19 test orders were missing information on the department in which the order was originally placed (31 white patients and 64 black patients).