Table 1.
Main clinical characteristics of the cohort. Differences between individuals with plasma zinc at admission at <50 mcg/dL and ≥50 mcg/dL.
| Overall | <50 µg/dL | ≥50 µg/dL | p-Value | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cohort Characteristics | n = 249 | n = 58 | n = 191 | ||||
| Median age, years (IQR) | 65 | (54–75) | 65 | (59–75) | 64 | (53–74) | 0.363 |
| Male sex (%) | 127 | −51% | 30 | −51% | 97 | −51% | 0.929 |
| Comorbidities | |||||||
| Current smoker (%) | 23 | −9.30% | 4 | −7% | 19 | −10% | 0.482 |
| Hypertension (%) | 141 | −56% | 33 | −57% | 108 | −57% | 0.962 |
| Diabetes mellitus (%) | 53 | −21% | 17 | −29% | 36 | −19% | 0.088 |
| Chronic lung disease (%) | 22 | −9% | 9 | −16% | 13 | −7% | 0.041 |
| Chronic heart disease (%) | 37 | −14% | 11 | −19% | 26 | −14% | 0.315 |
| Chronic renal disease (%) | 70 | −12% | 22 | −38% | 48 | −25% | 0.058 |
| Chronic liver disease (%) | 18 | −7% | 1 | −2% | 17 | −9% | 0.065 |
| Dementia (%) | 8 | −3% | 2 | −3% | 6 | −3% | 0.908 |
| HIV infection (%) | 5 | −2% | 1 | −2% | 4 | −2% | 0.865 |
| Active cancer (%) | 7 | −3% | 3 | −5% | 4 | −2% | 0.214 |
| ACE inhibitors (%) | 61 | −24% | 12 | −21% | 49 | −26% | 0.441 |
| Charlson Comorbidy Index, median (IQR) | 1 | (0–3) | 1 | (0–3) | 1 | (0–2) | 0.247 |
| Symptoms at onset | |||||||
| Median days since syntoms onset (IQR) | 7 | (4–9) | 6 | (3–7) | 7 | (5–10) | 0.005 |
| Dyspnoea (%) | 151 | −60% | 42 | −72% | 109 | −57% | 0.036 |
| Fever (%) | 203 | −81% | 45 | −77% | 158 | −82% | 0.377 |
| Cough (%) | 198 | −79% | 43 | −74% | 155 | −81% | 0.246 |
| Diarrhea (%) | 68 | −27% | 12 | −21% | 56 | −29% | 0.196 |
| Clinical markers at onset | |||||||
| Median C-reactive protein mg/dL (IQR) | 7.5 | (3.5–15.2) | 14.6 | (5–24) | 7 | (3–13) | 0.037 |
| Median lymphocyte count/mL (IQR) | 1.02 | (0.71–1.4) | 0.82 | (0.57–1.18) | 1.1 | (0.78–1.48) | 0.598 |
| Median interleukin (IL)-6 pg/mL (IQR) | 42 | (15–89) | 77 | (39–145) | 32 | (11–71) | <0.001 |
| Median lactate dehydrogenase UI/l (IQR) | 288 | (241–345) | 356 | (275–483) | 274 | (231–362) | 0.001 |
| Median D-dimer UI/l (IQR) | 800 | (470–1450) | 935 | (540–1700) | 800 | (460–1215) | 0.048 |
| Median PaO2FiO2 ratio (IQR) | 177 | (100–299) | 124 | (91–181) | 219 | (106–314) | <0.001 |
| Median modified early warning score (MEWS) (IQR) | 2 | (1–3) | 2 | (2–3) | 2 | (1–3) | 0.005 |
| Median serum zinc, mcg/mL (IQR) | 61 | (50–71) | 43 | (39–48) | 66 | (58–74) | <0.001 |
| Treatment | |||||||
| Hydroxycholoroquine (%) | 248 | −99.50% | 58 | −100% | 190 | −99% | 0.372 |
| Azythromicin (%) | 231 | −95% | 57 | −95% | 174 | −95% | 0.766 |
| Tocilizumab (%) | 55 | −23% | 23 | −40% | 32 | −17% | <0.001 |
| Dexamethasone (%) | 64 | −26% | 24 | −41% | 40 | −21% | <0.001 |
| Methylprednisolone (%) | 59 | −24% | 26 | −45% | 33 | −17% | <0.001 |
| Clinical Outcomes | |||||||
| Median Time to clinical recovery days (IQR) | 10 | (6–18) | 25 | (14–36) | 8 | (5–14) | <0.001 |
| Intensive care unit (ICU) admission (%) | 70 | −28% | 36 | −62% | 34 | −18% | <0.001 |
| Death (%) | 21 | −9% | 12 | −21% | 9 | −5% | <0.001 |
IQR (Interquartile Range).