Table 1.
Characteristics of the whole cohort and by frailty (CFS 1–4 “Nonfrail” versus CFS 5–8 “Frail”).
| Characteristic, Median (IQR) | All (n = 214) |
Non-Frail (n = 72) |
Frail (n = 142) |
p |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age, years | 80 (75, 87) | 75 (70, 77) | 84 (77, 89) | <0.001 |
| Sex, % (n) women | 43.9 (94) | 29.2 (21) | 51.4 (73) | 0.002 |
| CFS | 6 (4, 7) | 3 (2, 4) | 6 (6, 7) | <0.001 |
| BMI, Kg/m2 | 24.6 (21.2, 29.2) | 26.5 (23.3, 31.2) | 23.5 (20.1, 27.7) | 0.0015 |
| Known Dementia, % (n) | 27.1 (58) | 1.4 (1) | 40.1 (57) | <0.001 |
| Admission from care home, % (n) | 31.3 (67) | 0 (0) | 47.3 (67) | <0.001 |
| Pre-admission mobility, % (n) | <0.001 | |||
| Independent | 39.3 (84) | 84.7 (61) | 16.2 (23) | |
| Stick | 15.0 (32) | 9.7 (7) | 17.6 (25) | |
| Frame | 33.6 (72) | 5.6 (4) | 47.9 (68) | |
| Immobile | 12.2 (26) | 0 (0) | 18.3 (26) | |
| Symptoms, % (n) | ||||
| Fever | 73.4 (157) | 81.9 (59) | 69.0 (98) | 0.043 |
| Cough | 63.6 (136) | 76.4 (55) | 57.0 (81) | 0.005 |
| SOB | 59.8 (128) | 62.5 (45) | 58.5 (83) | 0.568 |
| Fatigue | 48.1 (103) | 62.5 (45) | 40.8 (58) | 0.003 |
| Myalgia | 14.5(31) | 26.4 (19) | 8.5 (12) | <0.001 |
| Confusion | 36.9 (79) | 20.8 (15) | 45.1 (64) | 0.001 |
| Fall | 20.6 (44) | 12.5 (9) | 24.7 (35) | 0.038 |
| N & V | 18.7 (40) | 25.0 (18) | 15.5 (22) | 0.092 |
| Diarrhoea | 16.4 (35) | 31.9 (23) | 8.5 (12) | <0.001 |
| Abdominal pain | 7.0 (15) | 12.5 (9) | 4.2 (6) | 0.025 |
| Taste/ smell | 4.7 (10) | 9.7 (7) | 2.1 (3) | 0.013 |
| Non-specifically unwell | 19.2 (41) | 6.9 (5) | 25.4 (36) | 0.001 |
| Multimorbidity, % (n) | <0.001 | |||
| <2 LTC | 7.5 (16) | 16.7 (12) | 2.8 (4) | |
| 2 LTC | 9.8 (21) | 16.7 (12) | 6.3 (9) | |
| ≥3 LTC | 82.7 (177) | 66.7 (48) | 90.8 (129) | |
| Polypharmacy, % (n) 0–4 medications 5–9 medications ≥10 medications |
21.0 (45) 51.9 (111) 27.1 (58) |
36.1 (26) 45.8 (33) 18.1 (13) |
13.4 (19) 54.9 (78) 31.7 (45) |
<0.001 |
| CXR on COVID-19 presentation % (n) | ||||
| Classical/Probable COVID-19 | 34.6 (74) | 50.0 (36) | 26.8 (38) | |
| Indeterminate for COVID-19 | 17.8 (38) | 19.4 (14) | 16.9 (24) | |
| Non COVID-19 Features | 18.7 (40) | 9.7 (7) | 23.2 (33) | |
| Normal | 28.5 (61) | 20.8 (15) | 32.3 (46) | 0.002 |
| Hospital Acquired Disease, % (n) | 9.8 (21) | 11.1 (8) | 9.2 (13) | 0.649 |
| Time to first positive swab *, days | 0 (0, 1) | 0 (0, 1) | 0 (0, 1) | 0.290 |
| Acuity, % (n) yes | ||||
| Low (NEWS2 <5) | 45.3 (97) | 50.0 (36) | 43.0 (61) | |
| High (NEWS2 ≥5) | 54.7 (117) | 50.0 (36) | 57.0 (81) | 0.328 |
| Vital signs, % (n) | ||||
| Fever >38.0 °C | 28.5 (61) | 40.3 (29) | 22.5 (32) | 0.007 |
| Respiratory rate >24 bpm | 38.8 (83) | 36.1 (26) | 40.1 (57) | 0.568 |
| Systolic blood pressure ≤90 mmHg | 3.3 (7) | 0 (0) | 4.9 (7) | 0.060 |
| Pulse >130 bpm | 5.1 (11) | 5.6 (4) | 4.9 (7) | 0.845 |
| Laboratory Values | ||||
| White blood cells, 109/L | 6.9 (5.0, 9.6) | 6.3 (4.9, 8.6) | 7.4 (5.1, 10.0) | 0.094 |
| Neutrophils, 109/L | 5.4 (3.7, 7.8) | 4.8 (3.6, 7.2) | 5.8 (3.8, 8.2) | 0.19 |
| Lymphocytes, 109/L | 0.67 | 0.61 | 0.67 | 0.28 |
| (0.48, 1.01) | (0.46, 0.90) | (0.50, 1.04) | ||
| Creatinine, µmol/l | 89.0 | 87.5 | 89.5 | 0.32 |
| (71.1, 118.5) | (69.5, 111.0) | (71.6, 128.6) | ||
| C-Reactive Protein, % (n) | 0.007 | |||
| <40 mg/L | 30.3 (65) | 18.1 (13) | 36.7 (52) | |
| 40–100 mg/L | 31.3 (67) | 30.6 (22) | 31.7 (45) | |
| >100 mg/L | 37.4 (80) | 50.0 (36) | 31.0 (44) | |
| Interleukin-6, pg/mL | 19.6 (7.3, 50.8) | 26.8 (9.6, 71.1) | 17.6 (6.6, 39.2) | 0.04 |
| Troponin, % (n) ≤58.1 ng/L >58.1 ng/L |
50.9 (109) 23.8 (51) |
68.1 (49) 16.7 (12) |
42.3 (60) 27.5 (39) |
0.009 |
| D Dimer, % (n) | ||||
| ≤230 ng/mL | 15.6 (35) | 16.7 (12) | 16.2 (23) | |
| >230 ng/mL | 54.2 (116) | 54.1 (39) | 54.2 (77) | 0.942 |
* excluding 8 patients who were swabbed in the community and 1 patient who never had a positive swab; IQR: Interquartile range; CFS: Clinical Frailty Scale; Non-rail = CFS 1–4 and Frail = CFS 5–8; BMI: body mass index (available for 63 nonfrail and 130 frail patients); LTC: Long-term condition(s); CXR: Chest X-ray; Interleukin-6 (available for 42 non-rail and 85 frail patients). Percentages may not add up to 100% due to missing data.