TABLE 1.
Baseline characteristics of the study population
| Total | Nonsevere disease (no mechanical ventilation) | Severe disease (mechanical ventilation necessary) | p-value | |
| Subjects | 92 (100) | 51 (55.4) | 41 (44.6) | |
| Age years | 60.2±15.8 | 57.9±18.1 | 63.1±12.7 | 0.258 |
| Male | 71 (77.3) | 36 (70.6) | 34 (82.9) | 0.22 |
| Continuous oxygen insufflation | 61 (66.3) | 21 (41.2) | 41 (100) | <0.001 |
| Admission to ICU | 47 (51.1) | 9 (17.6) | 41 (100) | <0.001 |
| Duration of mechanical ventilation days | 22.6±14.1 | |||
| Duration of hospitalisation days | 18.5±13.4 | 13.1±7.8 | 25.3±15.6 | <0.001 |
| Use of ECMO | 5 (5.4) | 5 (12.2) | ||
| Duration of ECMO days | 13.6±3.8 | |||
| ECMO mortality | 3 (60.0) | 3 (60.0) | ||
| Discharge | 66 (72.5) | 45 (88.2) | 21 (47.2) | <0.001 |
| Fatal | 7 (7.6) | 0 (0) | 7 (17.9) | 0.003 |
| Presence of COVID-19-typical radiological changes# | 85 (92.4) | 44 (86.3) | 41 (100) | 0.013 |
| Initial viral load in NPS ×106 copies·mL−1 | 12.8±41.1 | 12.6±43.1 | 13.0±39.9 | 0.127 |
| Initial viral load in ETA ×106 copies·mL−1 | 67.2±273 | |||
| Duration of viral shedding¶ days (with twice confirmed negativity) | 18.7±12.0 | 13.9±9.5 (n=16) | 25.8±11.8 (n=18) | 0.025 |
| Persistent viral shedding (≥17 days) | 44 (47.8) | 14 (27.5) | 30 (73.2) | <0.001 |
| Time to first testing days | 7.4±4.7 | 6.5±4.0 | 8.4±5.3 | 0.12 |
| Comorbidities | ||||
| Arterial hypertension | 48 (52.2) | 24 (47.1) | 24 (58.5) | 0.30 |
| Diabetes mellitus type 2 | 18 (19.6) | 8 (15.7) | 10 (24.4) | 0.43 |
| Coronary artery disease | 15 (16.3) | 9 (17.6) | 6 (14.6) | 0.78 |
| COPD | 11 (12.0) | 4 (7.8) | 7 (17.1) | 0.21 |
| Immunosuppression | 22 (23.9) | 13 (25.5) | 9 (22.0) | 0.81 |
| Charlson Comorbidity Index | 2.5±1.8 | 2.5±1.9 | 2.6±1.7 | 0.62 |
| Inflammation parameters | ||||
| Initial CRP mg·dL−1 | 7.9±9.0 | 4.7±5.2 | 12.6±11.3 | <0.001 |
| Peak CRP mg·dL−1 | 15.4±12.1 | 8.5±7.9 | 25.6±9.8 | <0.001 |
| Initial PCT ng·mL−1 | 0.4±0.7 | 0.22±0.33 | 0.68±1.04 | <0.001 |
| Peak PCT ng·mL−1 | 4.1±13.7 | 3.0±14.2 | 5.91±12.9 | <0.001 |
| Initial IL-6 pg·mL−1 | 189.3±737.8 | 75.3±292.4 | 359.9±1095.5 | <0.001 |
| Peak IL-6 pg·mL−1 | 841.8±2300.5 | 118.9±321.7 | 1916.3±3352.2 | <0.001 |
| Initial WBCs g·L−1 | 10.8±31.6 | 6.2±3.0 | 9.5±5.0 | <0.001 |
| Peak WBCs g·L−1 | 18.1±43.2 | 8.5±4.0 | 21.5±9.7 | <0.001 |
| Specific medication | ||||
| Use of broad-spectrum antibiotics+ | 58 (63.0) | 19 (37.3) | 39 (95.1) | 0.01 |
| Use of azithromycin | 49 (53.3) | 20 (39.2) | 29 (70.7) | 0.14 |
| Use of antiviral agents§ | 9 (9.8) | 4 (7.8) | 5 (12.2) | 0.78 |
| Use of hydroxychloroquine | 24 (26.1) | 8 (15.7) | 16 (39.0) | 0.09 |
| Use of prednisolone | 3 (3.3) | 3 (7.3) | ||
| Use of tocilizumab | 4 (4.4) | 1 (1.1) | 3 (3.3) | 0.23 |
Data are presented as n (%) or mean±sd, unless otherwise stated. ICU: intensive care unit; ECMO: extracorporeal membrane oxygenation; NPS: nasopharyngeal swab; ETA: endotracheal aspirate; CRP: C-reactive protein; PCT: procalcitonin; IL: interleukin; WBC: white blood cell. #: COVID-19-typical changes included either ground-glass opacities or diffuse bilateral infiltrates; ¶: duration of nasopharyngeal viral shedding was defined by the time between symptom start and last positivity for viral shedding in standardised NPS or ETA samples; +: meropenem or piperacillin and tazobactam; §: lopinavir/ritonavir (n=8) or Tamiflu (n=1). p-values were calculated by the Mann–Whitney U-test or Chi-squared test, as appropriate.