Table 1.
Summary of baseline clinical characteristics, symptoms, biochemical markers and outcome.
| Patient Demographics and pre-existing characteristics | All patients (n = 222) | Group 1Patients swabbed ≤14 days of admission (n = 119) | Group 2Patients swabbed >14 days of admission (n = 103) | p-Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Female | 148 (67%) | 83 (70%) | 65 (63%) | |
| Male | 74 (33%) | 36 (30%) | 38 (37%) | |
| Mean Age | 82 | 82 | 82 | |
| Age range | 56–99 | 56–96 | 58–99 | |
| Place of admission | ||||
| Nursing Home | 27 (12%) | 23 (19%) | 4 (4%) | 0.0003 |
| Residential Home | 7 (3%) | 5 (4%) | 2 (2%) | 0.3 |
| Sheltered accommodation | 8 (4%) | 3 (3%) | 5 (5%) | 0.5 |
| Admitted from ‘other' | 2 (1%) | 2 (2%) | 0 (0%) | 0.2 |
| Own home | 178 (80%) | 86 (72%) | 92 (89%) | 0.7 |
| Comorbidities | ||||
| Dementia | 86 (39%) | 49 (41%) | 37 (36%) | 0.2 |
| Cardiovascular disease | 113 (51%) | 61 (51%) | 52 (50%) | 0.4 |
| Hypertension | 125 (56%) | 63 (53%) | 62 (60%) | 0.9 |
| Diabetes | 48 (22%) | 28 (24%) | 20 (19%) | 0.2 |
| COPD/Asthma | 48 (22%) | 25 (21%) | 23 (22%) | 0.8 |
| Clinical Frailty Score | ||||
| Mean CFS | 5.22 | 5.30 | 5.10 | |
| CFS range | 1 to 8 | 2 to 8 | 1 to 7 | |
| 1 | 1 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 1 (1%) | |
| 2 | 7 (3%) | 3 (3%) | 4 (4%) | |
| 3 | 16 (7%) | 9 (8%) | 7 (7%) | |
| 4 | 31 (14%) | 15 (13%) | 16 (16%) | |
| 5 | 57 (26%) | 31 (26%) | 26 (25%) | |
| 6 | 72 (32%) | 42 (35%) | 30 (29%) | |
| 7 | 37 (17%) | 18 (15%) | 19 (18%) | |
| 8 | 1 (0%) | 1 (1%) | 0 (0%) | |
| Presenting characteristics Core Symptoms | ||||
| Fever (≥37.8) | 82 (37%) | 46 (39%) | 36 (35%) | 0.3 |
| Cough | 118 (53%) | 68 (57%) | 50 (49%) | 0.1 |
| Respiratory distress | 64 (29%) | 52 (44%) | 12 (12%) | <0.00001 |
| GI upset | 36 (16%) | 23 (19%) | 13 (13%) | 0.1 |
| Myalgia | 13 (6%) | 9 (8%) | 4 (4%) | 0.2 |
| No recorded symptoms | 17 (8%) | 6 (5%) | 11 (11%) | 0.2 |
| Predominant other symptom | ||||
| Chest pain | 6 (3%) | 5 (4%) | 1 (1%) | 0.1 |
| Delirium | 70 (32%) | 39 (33%) | 31 (30%) | 0.3 |
| Falls | 13 (6%) | 12 (10%) | 1 (1%) | 0.002 |
| Malaise | 20 (9%) | 16 (13%) | 4 (4%) | 0.007 |
| Coryzal symptoms | 10 (5%) | 8 (7%) | 2 (2%) | 0.06 |
| Presyncope/syncope | 3 (1%) | 2 (2%) | 1 (1%) | 0.6 |
| Other | 17 (8%) | 11 (9%) | 6 (6%) | 0.2 |
| 4AT | ||||
| Not recorded | 39 (18%) | 4 (3%) | 35 (34%) | |
| 0 | 48 (22%) | 29 (24%) | 19 (18%) | |
| 1 to 3 | 36 (16%) | 28 (24%) | 8 (8%) | |
| ≥4 | 99 (45%) | 58 (49%) | 41 (40%) | |
| Laboratory and radiological findings | ||||
| Lymphocytes (×109/L) | ||||
| Not recorded | 23 (10%) | 1 (1%) | 22 (21%) | |
| <0.5 | 22 (10%) | 15 (13%) | 7 (7%) | |
| 0.5–1 | 98 (44%) | 57 (48%) | 41 (40%) | |
| 1.1–1.5 | 46 (21%) | 24 (20%) | 22 (21%) | |
| >1.5 | 33 (15%) | 22 (18%) | 11 (11%) | |
| Abnormal AST/ALT | ||||
| Not recorded | 25 (11%) | 1 (1%) | 24 (23%) | |
| Yes | 48 (22%) | 38 (32%) | 10 (10%) | |
| No | 149 (67%) | 80 (67%) | 69 (67%) | |
| CRP (mg/L) | ||||
| Not recorded | 20 (9%) | 1 (1%) | 19 (18%) | |
| 0–10 | 30 (14%) | 15 (13%) | 15 (15%) | |
| 11 to 50 | 75 (34%) | 35 (29%) | 40 (39%) | |
| 51–100 | 48 (22%) | 27 (23%) | 21 (20%) | |
| 101–200 | 34 (15%) | 28 (24%) | 6 (6%) | |
| 201–300 | 10 (5%) | 9 (8%) | 1 (1%) | |
| 300+ | 5 (2%) | 4 (3%) | 1 (1%) | |
| Na (mmol/L) | ||||
| Not recorded | 20 (9%) | 1 (1%) | 19 (18%) | |
| <125 | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | |
| 125–129 | 13 (6%) | 6 (5%) | 7 (7%) | |
| 130–135 | 33 (15%) | 19 (16%) | 14 (14%) | |
| >135 | 156 (70%) | 93 (78%) | 63 (61%) | |
| AKI | ||||
| Not recorded | 20 (9%) | 1 (1%) | 19 (18%) | |
| Yes | 45 (20%) | 28 (24%) | 17 (17%) | |
| No | 157 (71%) | 90 (76%) | 67 (65%) | |
| CVCX | ||||
| Not recorded | 65 (29%) | 12 (10%) | 53 (51%) | |
| 0 | 67 (30%) | 42 (35%) | 25 (24%) | |
| 1 | 32 (14%) | 27 (23%) | 5 (5%) | |
| 2 | 58 (26%) | 38 (32%) | 20 (19%) | |
| Outcome after 30 days | ||||
| Treated in critical care at any point of admission | 4 (2%) | 0 (0%) | 4 (4%) | 0.05 |
| Death | 95 (43%) | 54 (45%) | 41 (40%) | 0.2 |
| Discharged to current residence | 63 (28%) | 49 (41%) | 18 (17%) | 0.0002 |
| Discharged to a new residence | 11 (5%) | 2 (2%) | 9 (9%) | 0.03 |
| Remained IP | 49 (22%) | 14 (12%) | 35 (34%) | 0.003 |
| Average length of stay (excludes current IP) | 35.35 | 12.12 | 70.88 | <0.001 |