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.