Table 2.
Changes in clinical characteristics of 1645 consecutive adults with COVID-19, divided by study periods.
| Period 1 March (n=810) | Period 2 April (n=504) | Period 3 May (n=67) | Period 4 June (n=22) | Period 5 July (n=77) | Period 6 August (n=91) | Period 7 September (n=74) | p | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patient characteristics | ||||||||
| Age-Median (IQR), in years | 63 (51–74) | 65 (53–81) | 67 (53–84) | 68 (33–79) | 55 (45–72) | 64•5 (50–72) | 59 (45–72) | 0•003 |
| Age > 65 years (%) | 48•5 | 52 | 55 | 57 | 32•5 | 50 | 32 | 0•018 |
| Sex male, n (%) | 60 | 54 | 49 | 48 | 58 | 53 | 61 | 0•404 |
| Comorbidities (%) | ||||||||
| Hypertension | 47 | 50 | 63 | 38 | 44 | 45 | 36•5 | 0•189 |
| Diabetes mellitus | 20 | 21 | 25 | 19 | 23 | 19 | 19 | 0•940 |
| Chronic heart disease | 24 | 3 | 46 | 33 | 18 | 26 | 19 | 0•775 |
| Chronic lung disease | 22 | 24 | 22 | 43 | 27 | 23 | 18 | 0•957 |
| Chronic liver disease | 6 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0•076 |
| Chronic kidney disease | 12 | 14 | 24 | 9•5 | 8 | 12 | 7 | 0•340 |
| Solid cancer | 14 | 17 | 19 | 14 | 9 | 21 | 16 | 0•348 |
| Haematological diseases | 7 | 8 | 7•5 | 5 | 8 | 12 | 4 | 0•739 |
| Solid organ transplantation | 3 | 3 | 4•5 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0•463 |
| HIV | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0•908 |
| Symptom onset to hospital admission – Median (IQR), in days | 7 (4–9) | 7 (7–10) | 7 (4•5–11) | 7 (6–14) | 6 (4–9) | 5•5 (4–9) | 7 (6–10) | 0•502 |
| Vital signs at admission; Median (IQR) | ||||||||
| Temperature – Median (°C) | 37•3 (36•8–38•2) | 36•9 (36•3–37•6) | 36•8 (36•2–37•45) | 37•2 (36•9–37,85) | 37•2 (36•475–38•125) | 37•35 (36•8–38•275) | 36•75 (36•425–37•975) | <0•001 |
| Respiratory rate – Median (rpm) | 20 (18–24) | 20 (18–24) | 20 (18–26•5) | 22 (18–31) | 20•5 (18–26) | 20 (19–25•5) | 23 (20–27•5) | 0•112 |
| Respiratory rate > 20 (%) | 55 | 59 | 43 | 37 | 62 | 61 | 66 | 0•106 |
| Oxygen saturationa – Median | 95 (93–96) | 95 (94–97) | 95 (93–98) | 95 (92–95•5) | 95 (94–96) | 94 (92–96) | 94•5 (92•25–96•75) | 0•028 |
| Oxygen saturationa < 94% (%) | 43 | 32 | 30 | 32 | 27 | 40 | 39 | 0•102 |
| Laboratory values at admission; Median (IQR) | ||||||||
| Ferritin (ng/mL) | 643 (286–1279) | 447 (246–1103) | 184 (123–482) | 296 (192•50–354) | 474•50 320–1044) | 808 (420•5–1361) | 704 (289–1356•50) | <0•001 |
| C-RP (mg/dL) | 8,22 (3•92–14•10) | 8•17 (4•02–15•45) | 4•69 (2•29–12•44) | 7•53 (4•48–13•41) | 6•16 (4•00–12•86) | 9•51 (5•965–16•875) | 8•355 (3•375–13•820) | 0•148 |
| D-dimer (ng/mL) | 800 (400–1300) | 900 (500–1750) | 1300 (650–4450) | 600 (500–1000) | 450 (375–925) | 500 (300–1750) | 600 (400–900) | <0•001 |
| LDH (U/L) | 327 (251•50–411•50) | 297 (239–384) | 255 (202–315) | 246 (209–292) | 323 (261–376) | 322•5 (268–379) | 295•5 (234–373•5) | <0•001 |
| Procalcitonin (ng/mL) | 0•12 (0•06–0•23) | 0•11 (0•05–0•24) | 0•17 (0•05–0•59) | 0•03 (0•015–0•075) | 0•085 (0•05–0•15) | 0•135 (0•055–0•23) | 0•08 (0•06–0•18) | 0•156 |
| Lymphocyte count | 0•8 (0•6–1•2) | 0•8 (0•6–1•1) | 0•9 (0•7–1•6) | 1•3 (0•95–1•5) | 1•1 (0•8–1•4) | 0•9 (0•5–1•3) | 0•9 (0•7–1•1) | <0•001 |
| C-RP at its highest during hospitalisation ≥ 15 (%) | 43 | 37 | 31 | 42 | 33 | 34 | 33 | 0•008 |
| C-RP at its highest during hospitalisation; median (IQR) | 13 (7–20) | 11 (6–19) | 11 (4–17) | 9•5 (3–20) | 10 (5–19) | 10 (6–17) | 10 (5–18) | 0•042 |
a
These measurements were taken on room air at time of admission.