Table 1.
Patients’ characteristics at the time of hospitalization for a moderate or severe COVID-19 infection.
| Characteristics | Overall (n = 280) | Use of steroid (n = 59) | No use of steroid (n = 221) | p-value§ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years) | 63.5 (53.5–74) | 67 (54–77) | 62 (53–73) | 0.161 |
| Male gender | 217 (77.5%) | 46 (78%) | 171 (77.4%) | 0.999 |
| Ethnicity | 0.503 | |||
| White | 255 (91.7%) | 54 (91.5%) | 201 (91.8%) | |
| Latin | 19 (6.8%) | 5 (8.5%) | 14 (6.4%) | |
| Other | 6 (1.4%) | 0 (0%) | 6 (1.8%) | |
| Smoke (active or ex) | 36 (12.9%) | 11 (18.6%) | 25 (11.3%) | 0.187 |
| Fever (°C) | 37.8 (36.8–38.3) | 37.9 (37–38.3) | 37.7 (36.6–38.3) | 0.287 |
| Systolic blood pressure (mmHg) | 127 (115–140) | 125 (120–140) | 130 (115–140) | 0.728 |
| Diastolic blood pressure (mmHg) | 75 (70–80) | 72 (70–80) | 75 (70–80) | 0.332 |
| Body mass index (BMI, kg/m2) | 0.291 | |||
| ≤ 25 | 62 (26.4%) | 8 (17.4%) | 54 (28.6%) | |
| > 25–30 | 115 (48.9%) | 26 (56.5%) | 89 (47.1%) | |
| > 30 | 58 (24.7%) | 12 (26.1%) | 46 (24.3%) | |
| Number of comorbidities | 0.599 | |||
| 0 | 94 (33.6%) | 16 (27.1%) | 78 (35.3%) | |
| 1 | 81 (28.9%) | 18 (30.5%) | 63 (28.5%) | |
| 2 | 56 (20%) | 12 (20.3%) | 44 (19.9%) | |
| 3 | 49 (17.5%) | 13 (22%) | 36 (16.3%) | |
| Cardiovascular disease | 81 (28.9%) | 20 (33.9%) | 61 (27.6%) | 0.338 |
| Diabetes | 49 (17.5%) | 12 (20.3%) | 37 (16.7%) | 0.563 |
| Hypertension | 126 (45%) | 26 (44.1%) | 100 (45.2%) | 0.859 |
| Malignancies | 43 (15.4%) | 12 (20.3%) | 31 (14%) | 0.229 |
| Asthma | 8 (2.9%) | 4 (6.8%) | 4 (1.8%) | 0.111 |
| Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease | 16 (5.7%) | 6 (10.2%) | 10 (4.5%) | 0.077 |
| Oxygen saturation (%) | 94 (92–97) | 94 (91–97) | 95 (92–96) | 0.901 |
| PO2/FiO2 | 0.023 | |||
| > 200 | 131 (46.8%) | 29 (49.2%) | 102 (46.2%) | |
| ≤ 200 | 103 (36.8%) | 27 (45.8%) | 76 (34.4%) | |
| Unknown | 46 (16.4%) | 3 (5.1%) | 43 (19.5%) | |
| PO2/FiO2 | 0.027 | |||
| > 100 | 196 (70%) | 46 (78%) | 150 (67.9%) | |
| ≤ 100 | 38 (13.6%) | 10 (16.9%) | 28 (12.7%) | |
| Unknown | 46 (16.4%) | 3 (5.1%) | 43 (19.5%) | |
| Days from symptoms to hospital admission | 7 (4–10) | 7.5 (4.5–10) | 7 (4–10) | 0.859 |
| Lactate dehydrogenase (U/L) | 340 (275–449) | 329 (271–453) | 342 (275–447) | 0.782 |
| Normal range: [125–220] | N = 269 | N = 59 | N = 210 | |
| White Blood Cells (109cells/L) | 6.8 (5.2–9) | 7.2 (5–10.1) | 6.8 (5.2–8.6) | 0.429 |
| Normal range: [4.8–10.8] | N = 269 | N = 57 | N = 212 | |
| Total lymphocytes (109cells/L) | 1 (0.8–1.3) | 0.9 (0.6–1.5) | 1 (0.8–1.3) | 0.603 |
| Normal range: [1.0–4.8] | N = 275 | N = 59 | N = 216 | |
| Glucose (mg/dL) | 108 (99–126) | 109.5 (97–134) | 108 (99–125) | 0.747 |
| Normal range: [60–100] | N = 273 | N = 59 | N = 214 | |
| D-Dimer (µg/mL) | 1.01 (0.59–2.05) | 1.09 (0.49–2.09) | 0.99 (0.59–2.02) | 0.649 |
| Normal range: [0.27–0.77] | N = 140 | N = 35 | N = 105 | |
| C-reactive protein (mg/L) | 71 (28–122) | 90 (48–129) | 68 (26–120.4) | 0.052 |
| Normal range: [0–6] | N = 276 | N = 58 | N = 218 | |
| Ferritin (ng/mL) | 1068 (561–1876) | 840 (392–1576) | 1076 (608–2009) | 0.116 |
| Normal range: [male:30–400; female: 15–150] | N = 166 | N = 39 | N = 127 | |
| Fibrinogen (mg/dL) | 582 (481–675) | 639 (593–714.5) | 561 (462–656) | 0.013 |
| Normal range: [150–400] | N = 106 | N = 24 | N = 82 | |
| N terminal pro B type natriuretic peptide (pg/mL) | 191 (73–545) | 213 (77–1088) | 186 (67–505) | 0.230 |
| Normal range: [male ≤ 50 years: < 89; male > 50 years: < 228; female ≤ 50 years: < 154; female > 50 years: < 335] | N = 134 | N = 30 | N = 104 | |
| Troponin (ng/mL) | 10.7 (6.2–20.8) | 12.5 (6.9–26.1) | 10.2 (5.8–20.2) | 0.267 |
| Normal range: [0–14] | N = 163 | N = 36 | N = 127 |
Results are described by median (IQR) or frequency (%).
§By the Wilcoxon rank-sum test or the chi-square/Fisher’s exact test, as appropriate.