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. 2021 Apr 13;11:8059. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-86859-y

Table 1.

Characteristics of the patients at baseline.

Characteristic Total (N = 60) Interferon Beta-1a (N = 20) Interferon Beta-1b (N = 20) Control (N = 20) P-value
Age, median (IQR)—year 69.0 (55.0–82.0) 71.5 (49.7–74.8) 65.0 (57.0–74.0) 76.0 (55.0–85.0) 0.544
Male sex—no. (%) 31 (51.7%) 11 (55.0%) 9 (45.0%) 11 (55.0%) 0.766
Smoking—yes. (%) 18 (30.0%) 6 (40.0%) 4 (25.0%) 8 (44.4%) 0.478
Duration of symptoms before presentation, median (IQR)—day 5.0 (3.0–7.0) 5.5 (3.0–7.0) 6.0 (3.0–9.2) 4.0 (2.0–7.0) 0.884
Underlying conditions—no. (%) 37 (61.7%) 13 (65.0%) 12 (60.0%) 12 (60.0%) 0.932
Diabetes 14 (23.3%) 5 (25.0%) 5 (25.0%) 4 (20.0%) 0.911
Hypertension 20 (33.3%) 7 (35.0%) 6 (30.0%) 7 (35.0%) 0.928
Coronary heart disease 10 (16.7%) 5 (25.0%) 2 (10.0%) 3 (15.0%) 0.432
Chronic kidney disease 5 (8.3%) 1 (5.0%) 3 (15.0%) 1 (5.0%) 0.418
Malignancy 1 (1.7%) 0 (0.0%) 1 (5.0%) 0 (0.0%)
Other underlying diseases 8 (13.3%) 5 (25.0%) 0 (0.0%) 3 (15.0%) 0.065
Body temperature (on admission), median (IQR)—°C 37.0 (37.0–37.0) 37.0 (37.0–37.4) 37.0 (37.0–37.0) 37.0 (36.9–37.0) 0.054
Heart rate median (IQR) 88.0 (82.0–90.0) 90.0 (87.2–93.7) 86.0 (82.0–90.0) 85.5 (76.2–93.7) 0.175
Respiratory rate median (IQR) 16.5 (16.0–20.0) 16.0 (16.0–20.0) 16.5 (15.5–19.2) 18.0 (16.0–23.0) 0.711
Respiratory Rate > 24/min—no. (%) 12 (20.7%) 3 (15.0%) 4 (22.2%) 5 (25.0%) 0.724
Systolic blood pressure < 90 mm Hg—no. (%) 0 (0.0%) 0 (0.0%) 0 (0.0%) 0 (0.0%) 1.00
Oxygen saturation (SpO2)—median (IQR) 87.5 (83.2–89.0) 87.0 (82.5–89.0) 85.0 (82.0–88.7) 88.0 (85.0–89.7) 0.310
Venous PaO2, median (IQR) 26.6 (20.2–39.9) 28.9 (22.6–45.3) 26.3 (20.1–34.8) 22.3 (19.4–47.9) 0.515
Venous PCO2, median (IQR) 39.9 (32.2–54.1) 36.0 (29.2–54.4) 37.8 (32.2–48.4) 47.4 (33.5–59.9) 0.229
Venous HCO3, median (IQR) 25.0 (22.2–27.0) 25.9 (21.7–27.9) 26.3 (23.7–28.4) 24.2 (21.3–26.1) 0.165
White blood cell count (× 10−9/L)—median (IQR) 7.1 (5.2–10.4) 6.0 (5.1–11.1) 7.2 (5.2–9.4) 7.5 (4.9–10.5) 0.879
 < 4 × 10−9/L—no. (%) 7 (11.7%) 3 (15.0%) 3 (15.0%) 1 (5.0%) 0.723
4–10 × 10−9/L—no. (%) 37 (61.7%) 12 (60.0%) 13 (65.0%) 12 (60.0%)
 > 10 × 10−9/L—no. (%) 16 (26.7%) 5 (25.0%) 4 (20.0%) 7 (35.0%)
Lymphocyte count (× 10−9/L)—median (IQR) 0.9 (0.7–1.5) 1.0 (1.0–1.5) 0.9 (0.8–1.4) 0.8 (0.7–1.7) 0.959
 ≥ 1.0 × 10−9/L—no. (%) 24 (40.0%) 10 (50.0%) 7 (35.0) 7 (35.0%) 0.535
 < 1.0 × 10−9/L—no. (%) 35 (60.0%) 10 (50.0%) 13 (65.0%) 13 (65.0%)
Neutrophil count (× 10−9/L)—median (IQR) 5.1 (3.4–8.8) 4.9 (3.4–9.0) 5.4 (3.3–7.5) 5.1 (3.5–9.1) 0.966
 ≥ 1.5 × 10−9/L—no. (%) 3 (5.0%) 1 (5.0%) 2 (10.0%) 0 (0.0%) 0.641
1.5–8 × 10−9/L—no. (%) 40 (66.7%) 14 (70.0%) 13 (65.0%) 13 (65.0%)
 > 8 × 10−9/L—no. (%) 17 (28.3%) 5 (25.0%) 5 (25.0%) 7 (35.0%)
Platelet count (× 10−9/L)—median (IQR) 200.0 (159.2–247.7) 194.5 (159.2–250.0) 212.5 (168.2–249.5) 188.5 (154.5–242.0) 0.707
 ≥ 100 × 10−9/L—no. (%) 59 (98.3%) 20 (100.0%) 20 (100.0%) 19 (95.0%) 0.362
 < 100 × 10−9/L—no. (%) 1 (1.7%) 0 (0.0%) 0 (0.0%) 1 (5.0%)
Serum creatinine (μmol/L)—median (IQR) 97.2 (88.4–130.4) 97.2 (88.4–119.3) 97.2 (88.4–114.9) 114.9 (81.8–165.7) 0.564
 ≤ 133 μmol/L—no. (%) 49 (81.7%) 17 (85.0%) 17 (85.0%) 15 (75.0%) 0.641
 > 133 μmol/L—no. (%) 11 (18.3%) 3 (15.0%) 3 (15.0%) 5 (25.0%)
Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) (U/L)—median (IQR) 50.0 (32.0–78.0) 45.0 (30.0–87.0) 40.5 (32.7–53.5) 62.0 (39.5–77.5) 0.203
 ≤ 40 U/L—no. (%) 24 (41.4%) 10 (50.0%) 9 (50.0%) 5 (25.0%) 0.185
 > 40 U/L—no. (%) 34 (58.6%) 10 (50.0%) 9 (50.0%) 15 (75.0%)
Alanine Aminotransferase (ALT) (U/L)—median (IQR) 38.0 (28.0–51.0) 44.5 (26.2–66.7) 31.0 (27.7–40.0) 40.0 (31.2–53.7) 0.119
 ≤ 50 U/L—no. (%) 43 (74.1%) 13 (65.0%) 17 (94.4%) 13 (65.0%) 0.06
 > 50 U/L—no. (%) 15 (25.9%) 7 (35.0%) 1 (5.6%) 7 (35.0%)
Lactate Dehydrogenase (LDH) (U/L)—median (IQR) 536.0 (339.0–776.5) 550.0 (328.0–771.0) 470.5 (327.7–638.5) 598.0 (431.0–1100.0) 0.427
 ≤ 245 U/L—no. (%) 2 (5.6%) 1 (7.7%) 1 (8.3%) 0 (0.0%) 0.626
 > 245 U/L—no. (%) 34 (94.4%) 12 (92.3%) 11 (91.7%) 11 (100.0%)
Blood urea nitrogen (BUN)—median (IQR) 42.0 (29.0–59.0) 40.0 (25.0–55.0) 45.0 (32.7–60.5) 41.5 (29.0–98.7) 0.505
C-Reactive Protein (CRP)—median (IQR) 57.6 (14.0–78.5) 52.0 (19.3–83.8) 46.6 (13.2–78.5) 70.3 (14.1–78.2) 0.877
CRP < 6—no. (%) 3 (7.1%) 2 (13.3%) 1 (8.3%) 0 (0.0%) 0.359
CRP > 6—no. (%) 39 (92.9%) 13 (86.7%) 11 (91.7%) 15 (100.0%)
Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR)—median (IQR) 45.0 (14.7–62.5) 43.5 (14.7–50.7) 64.0 (40.0–74.0) 31.0 (9.0–50.0) 0.030

The values shown are based on available data. Laboratory values for Aspartate Aminotransferase and Alanine Aminotransferase were available for 18 patients in the Interferon Beta-1b group. Values for Lactate Dehydrogenase were available for 13 patients in Interferon Beta-1a, 12 patients in the Interferon Beta-1b, and 11 patients in the control group. Values for C-Reactive Protein were available for 15 patients in Interferon Beta-1a, 12 patients in the Interferon Beta-1b, and 15 patients in the control group. IQR denotes the interquartile range. Quantitative measures were compared using the Kruskal–Wallis test. Categorical variables were compared using the Chi-Square test.