Table 1.
Demographic and clinical characteristics of the two groups of patients. Number denotes mean (standard deviation) (a); raw number (percentages) (b); median [interquartile range] (c). Statistical significance was evaluated using two independent sample t-test (a); chi square (b); Mann-Whitney U test (c). P value reports the associated p value (statistical significance p<0.05). CRP = C-Reactive Protein; bpm = beats per minute.
| Normative values | Controls (n=68) | Tocilizumab (n=90) | Significance | P value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years)a | – | 71 (14.6) | 62.9 (12.5) | -3.706 | <0.001 |
| Ethnicity (Caucasian)b | – | 65 (95.5%) | 85 (94.4%) | 0.105 | 0.745 |
| Gender (males)b | – | 49 (72%) | 64 (71.1%) | 0.017 | 0.896 |
| Diabetes (yes) b | – | 21 (30.9%) | 14 (15.5%) | 5.276 | 0.022 |
| Hypertension (yes) b | – | 36 (42.9%) | 41 (45.5%) | 0.846 | 0.358 |
| Heart disease(yes) b | – | 22 (32.3%) | 11 (12.2%) | 9.500 | 0.002 |
| Time to hospitalization (days)a | – | 6 (3.1) | 9.1 (8.1) | 3.001 | <0.001 |
| Clinical characteristics at hospital admission | |||||
| Heart rate (bpm) a | – | 90.0 (16.0) | 91.0 (16.0) | 0.390 | 0.697 |
| Systolic blood pressure (mm/Hg) a | – | 127.0 (22.0) | 130.0 (23.0) | 0.918 | 0.360 |
| Diastolic blood pressure (mm/Hg) a | – | 73.0 (11.0) | 74.0 (10.9) | 0.285 | 0.776 |
| Temperature (°C)c | <37 | 37.5 [36–39.5] | 37.5 [36-40] | 0.460 | |
| Laboratory Results at hospital admission | |||||
| CRP (mg/L)a | <0.5 | 83.8 (64.1) | 121 (77.5) | 3.212 | 0.002 |
| Procalcitonin (ng/L)c | <0.1 | 0.14 [<0.1–3.2] | 0.25 [<0.1-7.5] | 0.980 | |
| White blood cells (x10³ per μL) a | 4.00-10.80 | 6.6 (3.9) | 7.0 (3.7) | 0.635 | 0.527 |
| Lymphocytes (x10³ per μL) a | 0.90-4.00 | 1.1 (0.6) | 9.9 (0.8) | -0.491 | 0.624 |
| Neutrophils (x10³ per μL) a | 1.50-8.00 | 4.7 (3.0) | 5.6 (3.5) | 1.444 | 0.151 |
| Platelets (x10³ per μL) a | 130-400 | 188 (89) | 224 (103) | 2.252 | 0.026 |
| Glycemia (mg/dl)b | 76-115 | 118 [87–476] | 114 [76-314] | 0.061 | |
| Urea (mg/dl) b | 17-49 | 38 [21–154] | 35 [17-143] | 0.140 | |
| Creatinine (mg/dl) a | 0.60-1.00 | 1.1 (0.5) | 1.0 (0.3) | -2.369 | 0.016 |
| Sodium (mmol/L) a | 136-145 | 135.9 (3.6) | 136.6 (5.3) | 0.790 | 0.431 |
| Potassium (mmoL/L) a | 3.4-4.5 | 3.9 (0.5) | 3.8 (0.4) | -1.471 | 0.143 |
| Chlorine (mmol/L) a | 89-107 | 97.3 (4.1) | 97.4 (4.2) | 0.227 | 0.821 |
| Bilirubin (mg/dL) a | <1.20 | 0.5 (0.2) | 0.6 (0.2) | 0.982 | 0.328 |
| Aspartate Transaminase -AST (U/L) a | 18-34 | 52.7 (37.8) | 56.7 (38.2) | 0.623 | 0.534 |
| Alanine amionotrasferase -ALT (U/L) a | 10-35 | 35.4 (31.1) | 46.9 (35.5) | 2.015 | 0.046 |
| Gamma glutamyl trasferase- gGT (U/L) b | 6-42 | 34 [14–555] | 45.5 [11-360] | 0.053 | |
| Alkaline phosphatase -ALP (U/L) a | 44-107 | 70.7 (51.1) | 63.0 (34.3) | -1.001 | 0.319 |
| Lactate dehydrogenase- LDH (U/L) a | 135-225 | 326.0 (146.7) | 371.3 (131.1) | 1.192 | 0.237 |
| Creatine kinase- CK (U/L) b | 26-192 | 102.5 [18–843] | 113 [21–918] | 0.048 | |
| Prothrombine time -Pt (sec) b | 9.4-12.5 | 13.1 [10.9–18.4] | 13.5 [10.8–22.2] | 0.145 | |
| Activated partial thromboplastine time- aPTT (sec) b | 24-38 | 32.2 (5.1) | 33.1 (5.2) | -1.033 | 0.303 |
| International normalized ratio -INR c | 0.9-1.2 | 1.2 [0.9–4.6] | 1.2 [1.0–2.0] | 0.165 | |