Table 1.
Clinical and laboratory characteristics of the study population.
| Clinical characteristics | All patients (N = 42) | Admission to ICU |
p-value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yes (N = 10) | No (N = 32) | |||
| Age (years) | 56.64±14.12 | 61.30±8.51 | 55.19±15.28 | 0.120 |
| Male gender | 29 (69.0%) | 9 (90%) | 20 (62.5%) | 0.134 |
| Obesity | 12 (28.6%) | 4 (40%) | 8 (25%) | 0.433 |
| Smoking history | 11 (26.2%) | 4 (40%) | 7 (21.9%) | 0.418 |
| Comorbidities | ||||
| Hypertension | 12 (28.6%) | 6 (60%) | 6 (18.8%) | 0.019 |
| Diabetes mellitus | 2 (4.8%) | 2 (20%) | 0 (0%) | 0.052 |
| Heart failure | 1 (2.4%) | 0 (0%) | 1 (3.1%) | 1 |
| Chronic kidney disease | 4 (9.5%) | 1 (10%) | 3 (9.4%) | 1 |
| Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease | 1 (2.4%) | 0 (0%) | 1 (3.1%) | 1 |
| Asthma | 4 (9.5%) | 1 (10%) | 3 (9.4%) | 1 |
| Cancer | 2 (4.8%) | 0 (0%) | 2 (6.3%) | 1 |
| Immunodeficiency | 2 (4.8%) | 1 (10%) | 1 (3.1%) | 0.424 |
| Symptoms | ||||
| Fever | 41 (97.6%) | 10 (100%) | 31 (96.9%) | 1 |
| Cough | 28 (66.7%) | 5 (50%) | 23 (71.9%) | 0.241 |
| Fatigue | 26 (61.9%) | 4 (40%) | 22 (68.8%) | 0.130 |
| Shortness of breath | 25 (59.5%) | 9 (90%) | 16 (50%) | 0.031 |
| Diarrhea | 13 (30.9%) | 0 (0%) | 13 (40.6%) | 0.018 |
| Vomiting | 4 (9.5%) | 2 (20%) | 2 (6.3%) | 0.245 |
| Loss of smell | 4 (9.5%) | 0 (0%) | 4 (12.5%) | 0.556 |
| Vital signs – Arterial blood gases at admission | ||||
| Mean arterial pressure (mmHg) | 90 [80.83–95.83] | 93.33 [83.33–99.17] | 89.17 [80–93.33] | 0.458 |
| Heart rate (beats/minute) | 81.88±14.55 | 89.11±15.89 | 79.84±13.73 | 0.139 |
| PaO2/FiO2 ratio (mmHg) | 340.9 [288.7–376.5] | 220 [190.6–271.4] | 361.9 [328.6–388.1] | <0.001 |
| Arterial-alveolar gradient (mmHg) | 37.93 [30.93–68.93] | 130.85 [60.09–160.45] | 36.73 [27.84–42.03] | 0.002 |
| Lactate (mmol/L) | 1.14±0.32 | 1.23±0.30 | 1.12±0.32 | 0.350 |
| Laboratory tests at admission | ||||
| White blood cells (/μL) | 6572±2518 | 6807±3586 | 6499±2152 | 0.801 |
| Neutrophils (/μL) | 4457±1997 | 5258±2954 | 4206±1571 | 0.304 |
| Lymphocytes (/μL) | 1335 [922–1875] | 1214 [741–1560] | 1500 [950–1912] | <0.001 |
| Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio | 3.04 [1.88–4.72] | 4.15 [3.04–4.55] | 3.01 [1.63–3.96] | 0.090 |
| Platelets (/μL) | 197.29±64.85 | 174.97±60.94 | 204.27±65.37 | 0.211 |
| Platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio | 216 [160.5–394.5] | 202.69 [175.3–249.07] | 260.3 [159.8–449.6] | 0.163 |
| Hemoglobin (g/dL) | 13.96±1.26 | 14.39±1.48 | 13.82±1.18 | 0.288 |
| C-reactive protein (mg/dL) | 6.4 [1.34–10.90] | 12.52 [6.72–15.95] | 3.34 [1.15–10.24] | 0.024 |
| Procalcitonin (ng/mL) | 0.09 [0.04–0.13] | 0.13 [0.10–0.20] | 0.04 [0.03–0.11] | 0.011 |
| Ferritin (ng/mL) | 496.2 [245–949.25] | 989 [682.2–2259.5] | 434.8 [188–833] | 0.025 |
| Lactate dehydrogenase (U/L) | 265 [219–365] | 359 [262.2–384.1] | 258 [206.5–348] | 0.071 |
| Urea (mg/dL) | 28.5 [23.25–37.5] | 35 [30.5–50] | 28 [22.75–33] | 0.065 |
| Creatinine (mg/dL) | 0.9 [0.8–1.0] | 1.0 [0.9–1.08] | 0.9 [0.8–1.0] | 0.062 |
| Aspartate aminotransferase (U/L) | 33 [24.5–43.75] | 47 [31–68] | 30.5 [22.75–43] | 0.035 |
| Alanine aminotransferase (U/L) | 33.5 [21–54] | 46.5 [24.25–62.75] | 33 [21–45.5] | 0.330 |
| Total bilirubin (mg/dL) | 0.6 [0.48–0.8] | 0.6 [0.53–0.68] | 0.6 [0.43–0.8] | 0.875 |
| Fibrinogen (mg/dL) | 563.9±169.8 | 673.7±156.7 | 525.9±159.7 | 0.029 |
| D-dimers (μg/mL) | 0.56 [0.38–1.31] | 0.74 [0.64–1.20] | 0.49 [0.32–1.61] | 0.249 |
| Treatment | ||||
| Oseltamivir | 16 (38.1%) | 5 (50%) | 11 (34.4%) | 0.465 |
| Hydroxychloroquine | 31 (73.8%) | 10 (100%) | 21 (65.6%) | 0.041 |
| Azithromycin | 32 (76.2%) | 10 (100%) | 22 (68.8%) | 0.084 |
| Ceftriaxone | 17 (40.5%) | 7 (70%) | 10 (31.3%) | 0.062 |
| Clinical scores | ||||
| Initial CURB-65 | 1 [0–1] | 2 [1,2] | 0 [0–1] | <0.001 |
| Initial PSI/PORT | 68 [52–81] | 74.5 [71.5–111] | 58 [47–78] | 0.005 |
| Maximum MEWS | 1 [0–2] | 3 [[2], [3], [4]] | 1 [0–2] | <0.001 |
| Maximum SOFA | 2 [[1], [2], [3]] | 3 [3–3] | 2 [1,2] | 0.001 |
| Maximum APACHE II | 6.5 [3.75–9] | 11 [[9], [10], [11]] | 5 [2–7.5] | <0.001 |
Bold text indicates statistical significance (p-value <0.05). Continuous data are expressed as mean ± standard deviation or median [interquartile range].