Table 1.
Clinical Characteristics of Patients With SARS-CoV-2 Infection Between March 24, 2020, and January 1, 2021, in Hong Kong
| Clinical Characteristics | All (n = 7622) |
Without ALT/AST Elevation (n = 6259) |
With ALT/AST Elevation (n = 1363) |
P Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male gender, No. (%) | 3675 (48.2) | 2770 (44.3) | 905 (66.4) | <.001 |
| Age, y | 47.4 ± 19.2 | 45.9 ± 19.3 | 54.3 ± 17.0 | <.001 |
| Ct value of RT-PCR test for SARS-CoV-2 at baseline | 24.3 ± 6.8 | 24.7 ± 6.9 | 22.6 ± 6.3 | <.001 |
| 23.6 (18.7–29.5) | 24.1 (19.1–29.9) | 21.6 (17.6–26.9) | <.001 | |
| Lowest Ct value of RT-PCR test for SARS-CoV-2 | 22.6 ± 6.6 | 23.0 ± 6.7 | 20.7 ± 5.8 | <.001 |
| 21.5 (17.1–27.4) | 22.0 (17.5–28.0) | 19.5 (16.2–24.5) | <.001 | |
| Last Ct value of RT-PCR test for SARS-CoV-2 | 32.8 ± 3.6 | 32.9 ± 3.6 | 32.8 ± 3.7 | .285 |
| 33.0 (30.9–35.1) | 33.0 (30.9–35.2) | 33.1 (30.9–35.1) | .772 | |
| Platelets, ×109/L | 222.5 ± 74.5 | 226.6 ± 74.4 | 203.8 ± 72.3 | <.001 |
| Platelets <150×109/L, No. (%) | 1066 (14.0) | 751 (12.0) | 315 (23.1) | <.001 |
| INR | 1.1 ± 0.2 | 1.0 ± 0.1 | 1.1 ± 0.4 | .003 |
| Missing, % | 41.5 | 46.0 | 20.8 | |
| Albumin, g/L | 40.5 ± 5.0 | 40.8 ± 4.8 | 39.2 ± 5.7 | <.001 |
| Total bilirubin, μmol/L | 8.7 ± 5.8 | 8.5 ± 5.5 | 9.5 ± 7.1 | <.001 |
| ALP, ×ULN | 0.6 ± 0.3 | 0.6 ± 0.2 | 0.7 ± 0.5 | <.001 |
| ALT, U/L | 23 (16–36) | 21 (15–31) | 42 (25–80) | <.001 |
| AST, U/L | 28 (22–44) | 25 (20–32) | 52 (33–85) | <.001 |
| Missing, % | 69.9 | 75.0 | 46.2 | |
| Creatinine, μmol/L | 69 (58–83) | 67 (57–81) | 77 (66–91) | <.001 |
| CRP, mg/dL | 1.6 ± 3.1 | 1.2 ± 2.5 | 3.2 ± 4.7 | <.001 |
| Missing, % | 1.3 | 1.5 | 0.4 | |
| LDH, U/L | 213.8 ± 83.4 | 202.2 ± 62.9 | 267.0 ± 131.3 | <.001 |
| Missing, % | 1.5 | 1.7 | 0.9 | |
| WCC, ×109/L | 5.7 ± 2.1 | 5.6 ± 2.1 | 5.8 ± 2.2 | .001 |
| WCC <3.5×109/L, No. (%) | 785 (10.3) | 654 (10.5) | 131 (9.6) | .356 |
| Neutrophil, ×109/L | 3.6 ± 1.8 | 3.5 ± 1.7 | 4.0 ± 2.1 | <.001 |
| Missing, % | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.1 | |
| Lymphocyte, ×109/L | 1.4 ± 0.8 | 1.5 ± 0.8 | 1.2 ± 0.6 | <.001 |
| Lymphocyte <1×109/L, No. (%) | 2137 (28.1) | 1571 (25.2) | 566 (41.6) | <.001 |
| Missing, % | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.1 | |
| HBV infection, No. (%) | 340 (6.6) | 257 (6.6) | 83 (6.6) | .966 |
| Missing, % | 32.2 | 37.6 | 7.0 | |
| HCV infection, No. (%) | 47 (1.1) | 36 (1.1) | 11 (1.0) | .635 |
| Missing, % | 43.9 | 49.8 | 17.1 | |
| Cirrhosis, No. (%) | 88 (1.2) | 70 (1.1) | 18 (1.3) | .527 |
| Diabetes mellitus, No. (%) | 1261 (16.5) | 854 (13.6) | 407 (29.9) | <.001 |
| Hypertension, No. (%) | 1903 (25.0) | 1363 (21.8) | 540 (39.6) | <.001 |
| Medication use during follow-up, No. (%) | ||||
| Remdesivir | 576 (7.6) | 372 (5.9) | 204 (15.0) | <.001 |
| Corticosteroids | 1300 (17.1) | 702 (11.2) | 598 (43.9) | <.001 |
| Dexamethasone | 1243 (16.3) | 667 (10.7) | 576 (42.3) | <.001 |
| Hydrocortisone | 120 (1.6) | 54 (0.9) | 66 (4.8) | <.001 |
| Prednisolone | 67 (0.9) | 35 (0.6) | 32 (2.3) | <.001 |
| Methylprednisolone | 3 (0.04) | 1 (0.02) | 2 (0.1) | .084 |
| Peak corticosteroid daily dose, prednisolone equivalent, mg | 45 (45–45) | 45 (45–45) | 45 (45–60) | .003 |
| Interferon beta, No. (%) | 2859 (37.5) | 1984 (31.7) | 875 (64.2) | <.001 |
| Lopinavir-ritonavir, No. (%) | 1505 (19.7) | 1063 (17.0) | 442 (32.4) | <.001 |
| Ribavirin, No. (%) | 1648 (21.6) | 1141 (18.2) | 507 (37.2) | <.001 |
| Antibiotic treatment, No. (%) | 2458 (32.2) | 1682 (26.9) | 776 (56.9) | <.001 |
| Antifungal treatment, No. (%) | 41 (0.5) | 11 (0.2) | 30 (2.2) | <.001 |
| Oseltamivir, No. (%) | 30 (0.4) | 19 (0.3) | 11 (0.8) | .007 |
| IVIG, No. (%) | 8 (0.1) | 2 (0.03) | 6 (0.4) | .001 |
| Clinical outcomes in 60 d, No. (%) | ||||
| Death | 144 (1.9) | 82 (1.3) | 62 (4.5) | <.001 |
| ICU admission | 374 (4.9) | 144 (2.3) | 230 (16.9) | <.001 |
| Invasive mechanical ventilation | 179 (2.3) | 57 (0.9) | 122 (9.0) | <.001 |
All concomitant medications are represented as binary parameters. Percentages were computed based on nonmissing values. Continuous variables are presented as mean ± SD and median (interquartile range).
Abbreviations: ALP, alkaline phosphatase; ALT, alanine aminotransferase; AST, aspartate aminotransferase; CRP, C-reactive protein; HBV, hepatitis B virus; HCV, hepatitis C virus; ICU, intensive care unit; INR, international normalized ratio; IVIG, intravenous immunoglobulin therapy; LDH, lactate dehydrogenase; ULN, upper limit of normal; SARS, severe acute respiratory syndrome; WCC, white cell count.