Table 1.
Comparison of clinical characteristics of patients treated with blood ozonization vs. controls
| Overall patients (n = 60) |
Blood ozonization group (n = 30) |
Control group (n = 30) |
p | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male | 41 (68%) | 23 (77%) | 18 (60%) | 0.267 |
| Age (years) | 61 ± 13 | 57 ± 12 | 65 ± 13 | 0.0148 |
| Charlson Comorbidity Index | 2 [1–3] | 1 [0–3] | 2 [1–4] | 0.0445 |
| Obesity | 7 (12%) | 3 (10%) | 4 (13%) | 1 |
| Δ time symptoms—hospital admissions (days) | 7 [5–9] | 7 [5–8] | 7 [5–9] | 0.9345 |
| Hospital stay (days) | 9.37 ± 4.63 | 9.37 ± 3.84 | 9.37 ± 5.38 | 1 |
| Fever | 58 (97%) | 30 (100%) | 28 (93%) | 0.472 |
| Cough | 33 (55%) | 21 (70%) | 12 (40%) | 0.0379 |
| Dyspnoea | 30 (50%) | 17 (57%) | 13 (43%) | 0.4386 |
| Syncope | 3 (5%) | 1 (3%) | 2 (7%) | 1 |
| Myalgia | 7 (12%) | 4 (13%) | 3 (10%) | 1 |
| Asthenia | 32 (53%) | 20 (67%) | 12 (40%) | 0.0701 |
| Diarrhoea | 13 (22%) | 6 (20%) | 7 (23%) | 1 |
| Hypo/dysgeusia | 22 (37%) | 13 (43%) | 9 (30%) | 0.4216 |
| Hypo/anosmia | 18 (30%) | 9 (30%) | 9 (30%) | 1 |
| Antiretroviral therapy | 59 (98%) | 30 (100%) | 29 (97%) | 1 |
| Tocilizumab therapy | 21 (35%) | 12 (40%) | 9 (30%) | 0.5883 |
| Amiodarone | 2 (3%) | 1 (3%) | 1 (3%) | 1 |
| Azithromycin | 20 (33%) | 11 (37%) | 9 (30%) | 0.7842 |
| Other antibiotics | 19 (32%) | 12 (40%) | 7 (23%) | 0.267 |
| Systemic steroids | 2 (3%) | 1 (3%) | 1 (3%) | 1 |
| Clinical SIMEU Class—Admission | 2.7 ± 0.67 | 2.87 ± 0.78 | 2.53 ± 0.51 | 0.0545 |
| Clinical SIMEU Class—Discharge | 2.35 ± 0.88 | 2.27 ± 0.83 | 2.43 ± 0.94 | 0.4678 |
| Δ Clinical SIMEU Class | 0 [− 1–0] | − 1 [− 1–0] | 0 [− 1–0] | 0.0436 |
| Clinical worsening | 7(12%) | 2 (7%) | 5 (17%) | 0.4212 |
| ICU admission for IOT | 4 (7%) | 2 (7%) | 2 (7%) | 1 |
| Death | 2 (3%) | 0 (0%) | 2 (7%) | 0.472 |
| BGA—Admission | ||||
| PaO2 (mmHg) | 74.1 ± 19.9 | 71.8 ± 17.0 | 76.4 ± 22.5 | 0.3681 |
| FiO2 (%) | 25.7 ± 8.6 | 27.6 ± 9.3 | 23.7 ± 7.6 | 0.0753 |
| PaO2/FiO2 ratio | 307 ± 101 | 277 ± 87 | 336 ± 107 | 0.0234 |
| O2 Saturation | 96.4 ± 2.6 | 96.4 ± 2.3 | 96.4 ± 2.8 | 0.9601 |
| SpO2/FiO2 ratio | 403 ± 87 | 377 ± 93 | 429 ± 75 | 0.0202 |
| WBC (/mmc) | 5.61 ± 2.57 | 5.57 ± 2.43 | 5.65 ± 2.75 | 0.9049 |
| Lymphocytes (/mmc) | 0.91 ± 0.3 | 0.83 ± 0.3 | 0.98 ± 0.3 | 0.0497 |
| Platelets (/mmc) | 196.8 ± 82.3 | 213.5 ± 102.6 | 180.1 ± 51.7 | 0.1187 |
| LDH (U/L) | 616 ± 253 | 675 ± 278 | 558 ± 213 | 0.0711 |
| C reactive protein (mg/L) | 75.7 [38.1–118.8] | 76.4 [45.5–122.3] | 67.6 [26.2–107.7] | 0.3711 |
| CK (U/L) | 100 [64–193] | 105 [71–201] | 93 [61–155] | 0.5242 |
| IL-6 (pg/ml) | 36.5 [20.0–68.3] | 44.[21–58] | 33.0 [20.0–78.0] | 0.7947 |
BGA blood gasses analysis, CK creatine, FiO2 fraction of inspired oxygen, ICU intensive care unit, IL-6 interleukin-6 (normal range: < 7 pg/ml), IOT tracheal intubation, LDH lactate dehydrogenase, PaO2 arterial oxygen tension, WBC white bloods cells, time from symptoms onset to hospital admission/clinical SIMEU classchange, respectively