Table 2.
Comparative analysis of treatment and outcomes between prolonged and short‐term groups of SARS‐CoV‐2 RNA shedding duration
| Variables | Overall | Prolonged group (n = 65) | Short‐term group (n = 116) | P |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initial antiviral therapy | ||||
| Lopinavir/ritonavir monotherapy | 107/181 (59.1) | 42/65 (64.6) | 65/116 (56.0) | .260 |
| Lopinavir/ritonavir + IFN‐α | 43/181 (23.8) | 8/65 (12.3) | 35/116 (30.2) | .007 |
| Lopinavir/ritonavir + IFN‐α + arbidol | 19/181 (10.5) | 10/65 (15.4) | 9/116 (7.8) | .108 |
| Others | 11/181 (6.1) | 5/65 (7.7) | 6/116 (5.2) | .512 |
| Time from illness onset to antiviral treatment initiation, d | 5.0 (3.0‐7.0) | 6.0 (3.0‐10.0) | 4.0 (3.0‐7.0) | .006 |
| Treatment in hospital stay | ||||
| Corticosteroid | 46/181 (25.4) | 20/65 (30.8) | 26/116 (22.4) | .215 |
| Antibiotics | 99/181 (54.7) | 42/65 (64.6) | 57/116 (49.1) | .045 |
| Traditional Chinese medicine | 139/181 (76.8) | 57/65 (87.7) | 82/116 (70.7) | .009 |
| Intravenous immunoglobin | 22/181 (12.2) | 12/65 (18.5) | 10/116 (8.7) | .052 |
| Lopinavir/ritonavir | 172/181 (95.0) | 61/65 (93.8) | 111/116 (95.7) | .584 |
| IFN‐α | 106/181 (58.6) | 44/65 (67.7) | 62/116 (53.4) | .062 |
| Arbidol | 53/181 (29.3) | 20/65 (30.8) | 33/116 (28.4) | .742 |
| Chloroquine | 29/181 (16.0) | 18/65 (27.7) | 11/116 (9.5) | .001 |
| Ribavirin | 9/181 (5.0) | 6/65 (9.2) | 3/116 (2.6) | .049 |
| Outcomes | ||||
| Time from illness onset to discharge | 23.0 (19.0‐28.5) | 31.0 (27.5‐35.0) | 20.0 (18.0‐23.0) | <.001 |
| Hospital length of stay, d | 17.0 (14.0‐21.0) | 26.0 (19.5‐30.0) | 15.0 (12.0‐17.0) | <.001 |
| Hospitalization costs, dollars | 3027.0 (2286.0‐4730.5) | 4262.0 (3280.0‐6200.5) | 2645.0 (2082.3‐3308.8) | <.001 |
Note: [n(%)/M(IQR)].
Abbreviations: IFN, interferon; IQR, interquartile range; M, median; SARS‐CoV‐2, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2.