TABLE 1.
Characteristics of patients enrolled in the study stratified according to the presence of pneumonia at the time of COVID‐19 diagnosis
| Total | Pneumonia cohort | No pneumonia cohort | p‐value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of patients, n (%) | 32 (100) | 18 (56) | 14 (44) | NA |
| Age at the time of COVID‐19 diagnosis, years, median; mean (range) | 60; 57.7 (25‐86) | 62; 61.1 (44‐86) | 56; 53.6 (25‐77) | 0.303 |
| Sex, male, n (%) | 19 (59) | 10 (56) | 9 (64) | 0.725 |
| SARS‐CoV‐2 RT‐PCR positive test, n (%) | 23 (72) | 15 (83) | 8 (57) | 0.132 |
| SARS‐CoV‐2 antigen positive test, n (%) | 9 (28) | 3 (17) | 6 (43) | 0.132 |
| Underlying disease at baseline, n (%) | ||||
| Acute leukemia | 10 (31) | 3 (17) | 7 (50) | 0.062 |
| Lymphoma | 10 (31) | 5 (28) | 5 (36) | 0.712 |
| Multiple myeloma | 6 (19) | 4 (22) | 2 (14) | 0.672 |
| Chronic lymphocytic leukemia | 3 (9) | 3 (17) | 0 (0) | NA |
| Chronic myelogenous leukemia | 1 (3) | 1 (6) | 0 (0) | NA |
| Polycythemia vera | 1 (3) | 1 (6) | 0 (0) | NA |
| Autoimmune leukopenia | 1 (3) | 1 (6) | 0 (0) | NA |
| Active hematological disease, n (%) | 24 (75) | 14 (78) | 10 (71) | 0.704 |
| Last hematological therapy 2 years prior to COVID‐19, n (%) | ||||
| Induction of acute leukemia | 8 (25) | 3 (17) | 5 (36) | 0.252 |
| First cycle of chemotherapy | 6 (19) | 4 (22) | 2 (14) | 0.672 |
| >1 cycle of chemotherapy | 9 (28) | 4 (22) | 5 (36) | 0.453 |
| Daratumumab in myeloma | 3 (9) | 2 (11) | 1 (7) | 1.0 |
| Cyclosporin A after allo HSCT | 1 (3) | 1 (6) | 0 (0) | NA |
| Corticosteroids | 1 (3) | 1 (6) | 0 (0) | NA |
| Hydroxyurea | 1 (3) | 1 (6) | 0 (0) | NA |
| No therapy | 3 (9) | 2 (11) | 1 (7) | 1.0 |
| Number of days between last hematological therapy and COVID‐19 diagnosis, median; mean (range) | 4; 18 (0–287) | 6; 8 (0–32) | 2; 31 (0–287) | 0.617 |
| Serious comorbidities, n (%) | 19 (59) | 12 (67) | 7 (50) | 0.473 |
| Hypertension | 13 (41) | 7 (39) | 6 (43) | 1.0 |
| Diabetes | 8 (25) | 6 (33) | 2 (14) | 0.412 |
| Coronary heart disease | 3 (9) | 3 (17) | 0 (0) | NA |
| Hyperlipidemia | 5 (16) | 3 (17) | 2 (14) | 1.0 |
| Pulmonary disease | 3 (9) | 2 (11) | 1 (7) | 1.0 |
| Chronic renal failure | 1 (3) | 1 (6) | 0 (0) | NA |
| COVID‐19 severity at the time of the start of therapy, n (%) | ||||
| Asymptomatic | 5 (16) | 1 (6) | 4 (29) | <0.001 |
| Mild | 10 (31) | 2 (11) | 8 (57) | |
| Moderate | 1 (3) | 0 (0) | 1 (7) | |
| Severe | 16 (50) | 15 (83) | 1 (7) | |
| Critical | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | |
| Blood count parameters at the time of remdesivir start, × 10 9 /L, median (range) | ||||
| White blood cell count | 3.8 (0.08–139) | 3.6 (0.08–139) | 5.54 (0.69–21.81) | 0.992 |
| Absolute lymphocyte count | 0.7 (0.03–127) | 0.6 (0.03–127) | 0.9 (0.3–4.4) | 0.689 |
| Absolute neutrophil count | 2.4 (0.0–17.4) | 2.1 (0.0–11.0) | 4.0 (0.1–17.4) | 0.459 |
| Platelet count | 99 (5–392) | 116 (5–284) | 83 (12–392) | 0.849 |
Note: The significance level p < 0.05 is depicted in bold.
Abbreviations: allo HSCT, allogeneic human stem cell transplantation; ; COVID‐19, coronavirus disease 2019; RT‐PCR, reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction; SARS‐CoV‐2, severe acute respiratory syndrome‐related coronavirus‐2.