Table 1.
Demographic, clinical, viral, and laboratory findings of 41 COVID-19 patients for those blood and respiratory specimens were available for SARS-CoV-2 detection
| Overall, N = 41 | Sars-CoV-2 in the blood | P-value | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present, N = 8 | Absent, N = 33 | |||
| Demographics and clinical characteristics | ||||
| Age, years | 59 (50–67) | 65 (41–69) | 59 (50–66) | 0.469 |
| Sex | ||||
| Male | 13 (30.2) | 5 (62.5) | 23 (69.7) | 0.692 |
| Symptoms | ||||
| Fever | 35 (85.4) | 5 (62.5) | 30 (90.9) | 0.077 |
| Cough | 24 (58.5) | 3 (37.5) | 21 (63.6) | 0.172 |
| Dyspnea | 28 (68.3) | 5 (62.5) | 23 (69.7) | 0.692 |
| Evidence of interstitial pneumonia | 39 (95.1) | 7 (87.5) | 32 (97.0) | 0.356 |
| Chronic comorbidities | 27 (65.9) | 6 (75.0) | 21 (63.6) | 0.435 |
| Solid malignancy | 5 (12.2) | 1 (12.5) | 4 (12.1) | 0.683 |
| Haematological malignanciesa | 6 (14.6) | 5 (62.5) | 1 (3.0) | < 0.001 |
| Diabetes | 5 (12.2) | 2 (25.0) | 3 (9.1) | 0.246 |
| Obesity | 9 (22.0) | 0 (0.0) | 9 (23.7) | 0.116 |
| Cardiovascular disease | 3 (7.3) | 2 (25.0) | 1 (3.0) | 0.092 |
| Chronic obstructive lung disease | 4 (9.8) | 1 (12.5) | 3 (9.1) | 0.596 |
| Hypertension | 8 (19.5) | 1 (12.5) | 7 (21.2) | 0.503 |
| Chronic kidney disease | 1 (2.4) | 0 (0.0) | 3 (9.1) | 0.512 |
| Chronic liver disease | 1 (2.4) | 0 (0.0) | 1 (3.0) | 0.805 |
| Otherb | 3 (7.3) | 0 (0.0) | 3 (9.1) | 0.512 |
| Immunosuppressive therapy | 27 (65.8) | 4 (50.0) | 23 (69.9) | 0.411 |
| SOFA scorec | 3 (1–4) | 2 (1–4) | 3 (1–4) | |
| 0 | 5 (12.8) | 0 (0.0) | 5 (15.6) | 0.828 |
| 1–2 | 12 (30.8) | 4 (57.1) | 8 (25.0) | |
| 3 | 8 (20.5) | 1 (14.3) | 7 (21.9) | |
| ≥ 4 | 14 (35.9) | 2 (28.6) | 12 (37.5) | |
| CHARLSON comorbidity index | 2 (1–4) | 4 (2–6) | 2 (1–3) | |
| 0 | 7 (17.1) | 1 (12.5) | 6 (18.2) | 0.298 |
| 1–2 | 19 (46.3) | 2 (25.0) | 17 (51.5) | |
| 3–4 | 8 (19.5) | 2 (25.0) | 6 (18.2) | |
| ≥ 5 | 7 (17.1) | 3 (37.5) | 4 (12.1) | |
| COVID-19 manifestation | ||||
| Critical | 15 (36.6) | 4 (50.0) | 11 (33.3) | 1.000 |
| Severe | 14 (34.1) | 2 (25.0) | 12 (36.4) | 0.692 |
| Moderate | 11 (26.8) | 2 (25.0) | 9 (27.3) | 1.000 |
| Mild | 1 (2.4) | 0 (0) | 1 (3.0) | 1.000 |
| Time from symptoms-onset to hospital admission, days | 5 (3–7) | 3 (1–5) | 6 (3–8) | 0.024 |
| SARS-CoV-2 load, ddPCR | ||||
| Respiratory samplesd | ||||
| Viral load, copies/mL | 3680 (595–166,800) | 9,404,000 (586,060-10,000,000) | 1560 (312–25,160) | 0.002 |
| Blood samples | ||||
| Viral load, copies/mL | 0 (0–0) | 694 (209–1023) | 0 (0–0) | – |
| Laboratory findingse | ||||
| White blood cell count, × 109 per L | 8.43 (5.59–11.58) | 9 (2.70–9.90) | 8.30 (5.70–12.50) | 0.295 |
| Lymphocytes count, × 109 per L | 0.74 (0.55–1.06) | 0.50 (0.40–1.00) | 0.80 (0.60–1.10) | 0.230 |
| Platelet count, × 109 per L | 155 (78–274) | 108 (77–285) | 202 (78–274) | 0.567 |
| Total bilirubin, mg/mL | 0.47 (0.28–0.66) | 0.40 (0.20–0.80) | 0.50 (0.30–0.60) | 0.574 |
| Estimated glomerular filtration rate, mL/min | 83 (57–99) | 57 (46–105) | 88 (62–98) | 0.806 |
| Creatinine, μmol/L | 85 (70–107) | 107 (76–132) | 82 (69–98) | 0.264 |
| D-dimer, μg/mL | 1.08 (0.70–2.11) | 1.20 (0.80–3.20) | 1.10 (0.70–1.90) | 0.629 |
| IL-6, pg/mL | 53 (16–203) | 62 (28–134) | 44 (15–251) | 0.968 |
| Lactate dehydrogenase, U/L | 320 (220–422) | 236 (220–332) | 344 (217–552) | 0.252 |
| Outcome | ||||
| Death | 7 (17.1) | 4 (50.0) | 3 (9.1) | 0.018 |
| Time from symptoms-onset to death, days | 36 (27–83) | 31 (21–42) | 83 (28–98) | 0.400 |
| Discharged | 34 (82.9) | 4 (50.0) | 30 (90.9) | 0.018 |
| Time from symptoms-onset to discharge, days | 50 (33–73) | 38 (35–39) | 54 (30–77) | 0.621 |
Data are expressed as median (interquartile range), or N (%). P-values comparing COVID-19 patients with evidence of RNAemia to patients without RNAemia were calculated by Mann-Whitney U test, or Fisher’s exact test, as appropriate. P < 0.05 was considered statistical significant. ALT = alanine aminotransferase. AST = aspartate transaminase. COVID-19, coronavirus disease 2019. aIncluding: Large cell lymphoma (n = 4), T-cell lymphoma (n = 1), Hodgkin’s Lymphoma (n = 1). bIncluding: Sarcoidosis (n = 1), Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (n = 1), renal transplantation (n = 1). cInformation available for 39 individuals. d 20 Bronchoalveolar lavages and 21 nasopharingeal swabs. SARS-CoV-2 load did not differ between the two different samples (median, IQR: 3680, 366–166,800 vs 1530, 249–11,230, P = 0.419). eInformation available for 40 individuals