Table 4. Clinical characteristics of the cohort according to type of glucocorticoid therapy.
| VARIABLE | No glucocorticoids (n = 122) | Non-pulse-glucocorticoids (n = 36) | Out-of-week-2-MP (n = 30) | Week-2-MP (n = 54) | p-value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years), mean (sd) | 62.9 (14.7) | 69.0 (13.1) | 63.9 (16.4) | 64.9 (12.5) | 0.159 |
| Male n (%) |
63 (51.6) | 29 (80.6) | 23 (76.7) | 35 (64.8) | 0.003 |
| Follow-up (days)*, mean (sd) | 15.9 (5.0) | 19.5 (10.7) | 20.2 (10.7) | 20.7 (5.9) | <0.001 |
| Diabetes mellitus (n (%) |
25 (20.9) | 10 (27.8) | 9 (30.0) | 7 (13.0) | 0.206 |
| Overweight n (%) |
29 (23.8) | 5 (13.9) | 5 (16.7) | 10 (18.5) | 0.536 |
| Hypertension n (%) |
51 (41.8) | 22 (61.1) | 15 (50.0) | 29 (53.7) | 0.165 |
| Chronic bronchopathy n (%) |
29 (23.8) | 15 (41.7) | 6 (20.0) | 12 (22.2) | 0.116 |
| Active cancer n (%) |
15 (12.3) | 5 (13.9) | 0 (0.0) | 6 (11.1) | 0.231 |
| Neurodegenerative disease n (%) |
3 (2.5) | 1 (2.8) | 2 (6.7) | 3 (5.6) | 0.601 |
| Autoimmune disorder n (%) |
4 (3.3) | 3 (8.3) | 0 (0.0) | 2 (3.7) | 0.339 |
| Immunosuppressive therapy n (%) |
10 (8.2) | 7 (19.4) | 0 (0.0) | 4 (7.4) | 0.041 |
| Curb65: high risk n (%) |
5 (4.1) | 6 (16.7) | 5 (16.7) | 3 (5.6) | 0.040 |
| Time of symptoms to admission (days) mean (sd) |
6.8 (3.1) | 5.4 (3.1) | 5.4 (3.6) | 7.6 (2.7) | 0.001 |
| Lymphocytes (count/mm3) median (iqr) |
950 (540) | 670 (460) | 625 (500) | 690 (460) | <0.001 |
| Platelets (count/mm3) median (iqr) |
205,000 (116,000) | 212,000 (154,500) | 228,500 (135,000) | 214,500 (165,000) | 0.900 |
| Ferritin (mg/dl) median (iqr) |
402 (561) | 444 (920) | 1231 (1327) | 818 (919) | <0.001 |
| D-dimers ng/ml median (iqr) |
410 (991) | 565 (1,115) | 750 (1670) | 525 (890) | 0.121 |
| C-reactive protein (mg/dl) median (iqr) |
60.1 (109.2) | 78.2 (97.5) | 110.8 (97.5) | 120.6 (94.7) | 0.001 |
| SaO2/FiO2 median (iqr) |
450.0 (118.1) | 445.5 (214.0) | 299.5 (344.2) | 330.5(206.3) | <0.001 |
| SaO2/FiO2 <353 n (%) |
43 (35.2) | 19 (52.8) | 21 (70.0) | 35 (64.8) | <0.001 |
| Hydroxychloroquine n (%) |
109 (89.3) | 32 (88.9) | 29 (96.7) | 54 (100) | 0.227 |
| Days on hidroxicloroquina mean (sd) |
6.0 (2.9) | 6.8 (4.0) | 6.2 (2.7) | 6.9 (2.7) | 0.290 |
| Lopinavir-Ritonavir n (%) |
109 (89.3) | 31 (83.1) | 27 (90.0) | 51 (94.4) | 0.602 |
| Betaferon n (%) |
8 (6.6) | 3 (8.3) | 1 (3.3) | 1 (1.9) | 0.472 |
| LMWH n (%) |
110 (90.2) | 32 (88.9) | 30 (100) | 53 (98.2) | 0.076 |
Week-2-MP: methyl-prednisolone pulses in week 2; LMWH: low molecular weight heparin; sd: standard deviation; iqr: interquartile range.
* From disease onset to death, discharge or end of the study period.