Table 2.
Clinical and laboratory characteristics
| Characteristics | Hematological disease, non-SCT (n = 244) | ASCT (n = 58) | Allo-HCT (n = 65) | p value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Place of SARS-CoV-2 infection, n (%) | 0.1 | |||
| Outpatient | 180 (74) | 50 (86) | 55 (85) | |
| Inpatient in specialized hospital | 55 (23) | 7 (12) | 8 (12) | |
| Hospice institution | 9 (4) | 1 (2) | 2 (3) | |
| COVID-related hospital admission, n (%) | 163 (67) | 42 (72) | 44 (68) | 0.079 |
| Symptoms, n (%) | ||||
| Asymptomatic | 19 (8) | 6 (10) | 5 (8) | 0.9 |
| Fever | 178 (73) | 40 (69) | 41 (63) | 0.6 |
| Rhinorrhea | 29 (12) | 11 (19) | 14 (22) | 0.3 |
| Pharyngitis | 15 (6) | 3 (5) | 9 (14) | 0.09 |
| Fatigue | 140 (57) | 24 (41) | 32 (49) | 0.25 |
| Myalgia | 51 (21) | 9 (16) | 13 (20) | 0.38 |
| Cough | 175 (72) | 30 (52) | 39 (60) | 0.069 |
| Diarrhea | 54 (22) | 15 (26) | 12 (18) | 0.5 |
| Emesis | 23 (9) | 8 (14) | 6 (9) | 0.46 |
| COVID-19 stagea, n (%) | ||||
| Stage 1 | 41 (17) | 15 (26) | 18 (28) | 0.075 |
| Stage 2A | 70 (29) | 22 (38) | 19 (29) | 0.38 |
| Stage 2B | 133 (55) | 21 (36) | 28 (43) | 0.027 |
| Oxygen support, n (%) | 136 (56) | 24 (41) | 32 (49) | 0.021 |
| Abnormal radiological pulmonary finding, n (%) | 200 (82) | 44 (76) | 46 (71) | 0.35 |
| Antiviral COVID-19 therapy, n (%) | 0.05 | |||
| None | 49 (20) | 16 (28) | 13 (20) | |
| HCQ | 15 (6) | 0 | 11 (17) | |
| HCQ + AZT | 36 (15) | 5 (9) | 8 (12) | |
| HCQ + AZT + lop/rit | 14 (5) | 3 (5) | 1 (1) | |
| lop/rit | 29 (12) | 4 (9) | 5 (8) | |
| HCQ + lop/rit | 32 (13) | 14 (24) | 8 (12) | |
| AZT + lop/rit | 39 (16) | 6 (12) | 8 (12) | |
| AZT | 24 (10) | 5 (7) | 7 (11) | |
| Remdesivir | 3 (1) | 3 (5) | 2 (3) | |
| Other | 4 (2) | 3 (5) | 3 (5) | |
| Corticosteroid therapy | 0.029 | |||
| No | 132 (54) | 40 (69) | 45 (69) | |
| ≤0.5 mg/kg/dayb | 29 (12) | 7 (12) | 9 (14) | |
| >0.5 mg/kg/dayb | 83 (34) | 11 (19) | 11 (17) | |
| Anti-cytokine supportive therapy, n (%) | ||||
| Tocilizumab | 26 (11) | 10 (17) | 14 (21) | 0.05 |
| Anakinra | 10 (4) | 3 (5) | 5 (8) | |
| Baricitinib | 6 (2) | 1 (2) | 0 | |
| Laboratory characteristics at the time of SARS-CoV-2 detection | ||||
| ANC < 0.5 × 109/L, n (%) | 36 (15) | 4 (7) | 4 (6) | 0.089 |
| ALC < 0.5 × 109/L, n (%) | 99 (41) | 22 (38) | 19 (29) | 0.27 |
| Platelet count (× 109/L), median (range) | 109 (1–1075) | 127 (5–410) | 115 (10–548) | 0.4 |
| < 20 × 109/L | 28 (13) | 2 (4) | 4 (7) | |
| 21–50 × 109/L | 27 (12) | 7 (14) | 9 (15) | |
| > 50 × 109/L | 166 (75) | 42 (82) | 46 (78) | |
| CRP > 20 mg/dL (n/evaluable, %) | 152/217 (70) | 23/48 (48) | 25/54 (46) | 0.001 |
| IL-6 > 50 pg/mL (n/evaluable, %) | 28/70 (40) | 6/15 (40) | 11/25 (44) | 0.9 |
| Ferritin > 500 µg/mL, (n/evaluable, %) | 80/104 (77) | 14/21 (67) | 25/29 (86) | 0.4 |
| D dimer > 500 ng/mL (n/evaluable, %) | 127/197 (64) | 20/42 (48) | 25/46 (54) | 0.085 |
| Recovery from COVID-19 (n/evaluable, %) | 107/218 (49) | 42/57 (74) | 33/59 (56) | 0.001 |
| PCR negativity documented (n/evaluable, %) | 49/131 (37) | 15/30 (50) | 13/27 (48) | 0.01 |
| Median time from diagnosis to negativity, days (range) | 20 (4–48) | 26 (7–53) | 26 (7–43) | 0.5 |
| Overall mortality, n (%) | 80 (33) | 12 (21) | 13 (20) | 0.1 |
| COVID-19 related mortality, n (%) | 76 (31) | 10 (17) | 12 (18) | 0.02 |
| Median time from diagnosis to death, days (range) | 7.5 (0–38) | 13 (0–51) | 8 (0–42) | 0.18 |
| Admission to the ICU, n (%) | 28 (11) | 8 (14) | 7 (11) | 0.8 |
| ICU mortality rate, n (%) | 16 (57) | 2 (25) | 3 (43) | 0.2 |
SCT: stem cell transplantation; ASCT: autologous stem cell transplantation; allo-SCT: allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation; HCQ: hydroxi-cloroquine; AZT: azithromycin; lop/rit, lopinavir/ritonavir; ANC: absolute neutrophil count; ALC: absolute lymphocyte count; CRP: C-reactive protein; IL: interleukin; PCR: polymerase chain reaction; ICU: intensive care unit
aAs suggested in Siddiqi et al. [15]
b Refers to dose of IV methylprednisolone or an equivalent dose of another corticosteroid