Table 2.
Initial clinical, radiological and laboratory parameters and specific COVID-19 treatment
| Characteristics | Total (n = 128) | Deaths caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection (n = 109) | Death with SARS-CoV-2 infection (n = 19) | p |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Days from illness onset to hospital admission, median (IQR), days | 5 (2–7) | 5 (2–7) | 4 (2–7) | 0.944 |
| Signs and symptoms at diagnosis | ||||
| Shortness of breath | 103 (81%) | 86 (79%) | 17 (90%) | 0.363 |
| Fever | 89 (70%) | 80 (73%) | 9 (47%) | 0.023 |
| Cough | 54 (42%) | 50 (46%) | 4 (21%) | 0.043 |
| Diarrhoea or vomiting | 12 (9%) | 12 (11%) | 0 (0%) | 0.211 |
| Abdominal pain | 7 (6%) | 7 (6%) | 0 (0%) | 0.593 |
| Anosmia or ageusia | 22 (20%) | 20 (20%) | 2 (11%) | 0.404 |
| Asthenia | 17 (13%) | 14 (13%) | 3 (16%) | 0.718 |
| Arthromyalgia | 3 (2%) | 3 (3%) | 0 (0%) | 0.464 |
| Sore throat | 3 (2%) | 3 (3%) | 0 (0%) | 0.464 |
| Headache | 15 (12%) | 12 (11%) | 3 (16%) | 0.550 |
| X-ray/CT scan findings | ||||
| Normal | 16 (13%) | 6 (6%) | 10 (54%) | < 0.001 |
| Unilateral infiltrates | 21 (16%) | 16 (15%) | 5 (26%) | |
| Bilateral infiltrates | 91 (71%) | 87 (80%) | 4 (21%) | |
| Diagnosis | ||||
| RT-PCR positive | 123 (96%) | 106 (97%) | 17 (90%) | 0.123 |
| Ig test positive | 4 (3%) | 2 (2%) | 2 (10%) | |
| Presumptive diagnosis | 1 (1%) | 1 (1%) | 0 (0%) | |
| Laboratory parameters, median (IQR) | ||||
| SaFi | 390 (164–432) | 390 (289–433) | 390 (252–428) | 0.928 |
| PaFi | 233 (177–290) | 233 (169–295) | 233 (195–257) | 0.820 |
| White blood cells, × 109/mL | 6700 (4325–10,450) | 6500 (4300–10,100) | 7900 (5200–12,100) | 0.202 |
| Lymphocytes, × 109/mL | 700 (500–1000) | 700 (500–900) | 1000 (500–1300) | 0.074 |
| Platelets, × 109/mL | 173 (122–228) | 171 (115–227) | 196 (130–230) | 0.587 |
| Haemoglobin, g/dL | 130 (118–143) | 130 (116–142) | 131 (123–144) | 0.254 |
| D-dimer, mg/mL | 673 (440–1686) | 651 (422–1524) | 889 (556–3359) | 0.088 |
| CRP, mg/L | 120 (74–223) | 121 (75–211) | 104 (62–232) | 0.754 |
| Serum ferritin, ng/mL | 591 (350–1440) | 596 (359–1553) | 489 (330–931) | 0.321 |
| Creatinine, mg/dL | 1.22 (0.85–1.89) | 1.23 (0.85–1.68) | 1.19 (0.81–2.12) | 0.665 |
| Sodium | 136 (132–140) | 135 (131–140) | 137 (136–143) | 0.071 |
| ALT, U/l | 24 (17.37) | 24 (16–35) | 20 (18–49) | 0.728 |
| AST, U/l | 44 (32–65) | 44 (30–66) | 48 (33–58) | 0.494 |
| LDH, U/l | 429 (330–527) | 433 (327–530) | 406 (343–508) | 0.881 |
| Emergency room (ER) diagnosis | ||||
| SARS-CoV-2 was suspected in ER | 123 (95%) | 104 (95%) | 19 (100%) | 0.341 |
| Lung injury was diagnoses in ER | 88 (69%) | 82 (75%) | 6 (32%) | < 0.001 |
| Treatments during study period | ||||
| Antibiotic agent | 122 (95%) | 105 (96%) | 17 (90%) | 0.391 |
| Azithromycin | 107 (84%) | 91 (84%) | 16 (84%) | 0.356 |
| Lopinavir and ritonavir | 63 (49%) | 61 (56%) | 2 (11%) | < 0.001 |
| Hydroxychloroquine | 105 (82%) | 90 (83%) | 15 (80%) | 0.747 |
| Interferon | 14 (11%) | 14 (13%) | 0 (0%) | 0.128 |
| Tocilizumab | 4 (3%) | 4 (4%) | 0 (0%) | 1.000 |
| Corticosteroids | 34 (26%) | 33 (30%) | 1 (5%) | 0.238 |
| Anticoagulants | ||||
| LMWH prophylaxis | 84 (66%) | 71 (65%) | 13 (58%) | 0.752 |
| LMWH extended prophylaxis | 6 (5%) | 6 (6%) | 0 (0%) | |
| LMWH therapy | 16 (13%) | 13 (13%) | 2 (11%) | |
| Oral anticoagulants | 2 (2%) | 2 (2%) | 0 (0%) | |
| No anticoagulants | 20 (16%) | 16 (15%) | 4 (21%) | |
| Respiratory support | ||||
| High-flow oxygen | 2 (1%) | 2 (1%) | 0 (0%) | 0.552 |
| Non-invasive ventilation | 12 (9%) | 12 (11%) | 0 (0%) | 0.211 |
| Invasive mechanical ventilation | 26 (20%) | 26 (24%) | 0 (0%) | 0.013 |
| ECMO | 2 (2%) | 2 (2%) | 0 (0%) | 0.552 |
| DNR order | 20 (16%) | 12 (11%) | 8 (42%) | 0.002 |
Bold indicate p values that achieve statistical significance (p < 0.05)
Deaths caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection: patients whose death was caused directly by SARS-CoV-2 infection. Death with SARS-CoV-2 infection: Patients where SARS-CoV-2 acted as a precipitating factor to decompensate other chronic or acute pathologies that were the main cause of death.
ALT alanine aminotransferase, AST aspartate aminotransferase, CRP C-reactive protein, DNR Do not resucitate, ECMO extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, LDH lactate dehydrogenase, LMWH low molecular weight heparin, PaFi arterial partial pressure of oxygen/fraction of inspired oxygen, SaFi pulse oximetric saturation/fraction of inspired oxygen