Table 1.
Comparisons of clinical and laboratory variables between the two COVID-19 pandemic waves, Aragon, Spain, February–September 2020.
| Variable | Hospitalized patients | ICU patients | Deaths | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First wave | Second wave | p-value | First wave | Second wave | p-value | First wave | Second wave | p-value | |
| Sex Male/Female n (%) | 1365 (53.6)/1182 (46.4) | 1372 (51.3)/1301 (48.7) | 0.097 | 219 (66.0)/113 (34.0) | 131 (66.2)/67 (33.8) | 1.000 | 427 (54.8)/352 (45.2) | 256 (51.1) 245 (48.9) | 0.207 |
| Age (y) | 74 (60–86) | 70 (53–85) | < 0.001 | 70 (60–76) | 62 (54–72) | < 0.001 | 85 (77–90) | 87 (81–91) | 0.011 |
| Emergency room | |||||||||
| Systolic pressure (mm Hg) | 126 (112–141) | 128 (114–142) | 0.126 | 127 (114–143) | 130 (115–144) | 0.319 | 122 (108–141) | 129 (113–145) | 0.008 |
| Diastolic pressure (mm Hg) | 71 (62–80) | 72 (64–80) | 0.111 | 73 (63–81) | 73.5 (66–81) | 0.210 | 68 (59–78) | 69 (61–78) | 0.298 |
| Heart rate (bpm) | 86 (75–98) | 83 (73–97) | 0.001 | 90 (78–101) | 88 (77–100) | 0.265 | 87 (74–100) | 85 (73–98) | 0.183 |
| Respiratory rate (bpm) | 25 (20–32) | 26 (22–32) | 0.487 | 26 (20.5–32 ) | 27.5 (23.7–32) | 0.329 | 30 (24–34) | 31 (24–36) | 0.194 |
| Temperature (ªC) | 36.8 (36.3–37.5) | 36.6 (36.2–37) | < 0.001 | 37 (3.5–37.8 ) | 36.7 (36.3–37.3) | 0.001 | 36.9 (36.3–37.5) | 36.6 (36.3–37.2) | 0.001 |
| Oxygen saturation (%) | 95 (92–97) | 95 (93–97) | < 0.001 | 94 (90–97) | 94 (92–96) | 0.374 | 94 (90–96) | 94 (92–96) | 0.004 |
| Oxygen treatment (%) | 278 (12.7) | 239 (9.6) | 0.001 | 41 (13.7) | 18 (10) | 0.262 | 75 (11.9) | 50 (10.5) | 0.499 |
| Capillary blood glucose (mg/dl) | 147 (118–194) | 150 (121–215) | 0.329 | 147 (117.7–195.5) | 151 (126–210) | 0.590 | 162 (124.5–218) | 180 (140–255) | 0.056 |
| Laboratory | |||||||||
| Glucose (mg/dl) | 113 (97–139) | 116 (97–144) | 0.434 | 156.5 (117–211) | 164 (123–203) | 0.481 | 123 (101–164) | 132 (104–172) | 0.105 |
| Creatinine (mg/dl) | 0.94 (0.74–1.29) | 0.89 (0.69–1.19) | < 0.001 | 0.93 (0.71–1.31) | 0.73 (0.58–0.99) | < 0.001 | 1.22 (0.91–1.86) | 1.18 (0.84–1.64) | 0.091 |
| Urea (g/l) | 0.421 (0.3–0.69) | 0.4 (0.29–0.62) | 0.003 | 0.51 (0.36–0.74) | 0.47 (0.34–0.62) | 0.123 | 0.71 (0.5–1.06) | 0.63 (0.43–0.94) | 0.014 |
| Chloride (mmol/l) | 101 (98–105) | 102 (99–105) | 0.032 | 103 (99–106) | 104 (102–107) | < 0.001 | 103 (99–107) | 102 (99–106) | 0.412 |
| Potassium (mmol/l) | 4.17 (3.84–4.53) | 4.19 (3.86–4.52) | 0.904 | 4.14 (3.77–4.59) | 4.11 (3.85–4.41) | 0.561 | 4.31 (3.84–4.68) | 4.25 (3.83–4.59) | 0.241 |
| Ionic Calcium (mmol/l) | 1.17 (1.13–1.22) | 1.15 (1.11–1.19) | < 0.001 | 1.13 (1.08–1.17) | 1.13 (1.09–1.17) | 0.812 | 1.18 (1.13–1.22) | 1.16 (1.11–1.2 ) | 0.001 |
| Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) (U/l) | 23 (15–40) | 24 (15–40) | 0.953 | 36 (23–58) | 35 (21–49) | 0.227 | 20 (13–32) | 19 (13–29.5) | 0.289 |
| Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) (U/l) | 33 (24–49.75) | 32 (23–47) | 0.235 | 47 (31–74.5) | 38 (27–54) | 0.004 | 35 (23–53) | 34 (24–49) | 0.610 |
| Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) (U/l) | 292 (230–398 ) | 286 (224–372 ) | 0.018 | 465 (345–600 ) | 438 (332–546) | 0.247 | 319 (244–439) | 310 (238–458) | 0.609 |
| Prothrombin activity (APT) (%) | 85 (74–96) | 90 (78–102) | < 0.001 | 81 (68.5–94) | 83 (73–97.75) | 0.077 | 81 (66–91) | 84 (71–99.5) | 0.004 |
| International normalized ratio-prothrombin time (INR-PT) | 1.12 (1.06–1.23) | 1.08 (1.02–1.18) | < 0.001 | 1.16 (1.07–1.29) | 1.13 (1.05–1.24) | 0.027 | 1.17 (1.08–1.36) | 1.13 (1.03–1.26) | 0.001 |
| Active partial thromboplastin time (RATIO-APTT) (seconds) | 1 (0.91–1.1) | 0.97 (0.89–1.06) | < 0.001 | 0.97 (0.9–1.08) | 0.91 (0.83–0.99) | < 0.001 | 1.01 (0.92–1.11) | 0.97 (0.89–1.08) | 0.003 |
| D-Dimer (microgr/l) | 958 (519–1770) | 758 (428–1431) | < 0.001 | 1334 (808–2418) | 1129 (612–2567) | 0.310 | 1495 (972–3603) | 1327 (772–3893) | 0.139 |
| Fibrinogen (mg/dl) | 700 (599–709) | 657 (550–700) | < 0.000 | 700 (657–847) | 700 (577–764) | 0.004 | 680 (571–715) | 650 (531–700) | 0.008 |
| Leukocytes (mil/mm3) | 6.8 (5.1–9.3) | 6.64 (4.9–9) | 0.055 | 9 (6.77–12.1) | 9.6 (7.05–12.5) | 0.276 | 8 (5.8–10.95) | 7.55 (5.3–10.3) | 0.099 |
| Lymphocytes (mil/mm3) | 0.95 (0.67–1.38) | 1.02 (0.70–1.48) | 0.001 | 0.64 (0.44–0.94) | 0.68 (0.46–0.96) | 0.279 | 0.81 (0.53–1.26) | 0.77 (0.56–1.10) | 0.374 |
| Lymphocytes % | 14.6 (8.7–22.6) | 16.4 (9.9–24.5) | < 0.001 | 7.1 (4.4–12.0) | 6.9 (4.5–11.9) | 0.787 | 10.1 (6–17.4) | 10.7 (6.3–18.0) | 0.684 |
| Monocytes (mil/mm3) | 0.50 (0.35–0.68) | 0.49 (0.34–0.70) | 0.530 | 0.41 (0.27–0.64) | 0.51 (0.34–0.72) | 0.010 | 0.51 (0.34–0.73) | 0.48 (0.31–0.69) | 0.098 |
| Monocytes % | 7.6 (5.3–9.99) | 7.6 (5.3–10.1) | 0.636 | 4.8 (3.2–7.015) | 5.3 (3.8–7.45) | 0.158 | 6.4 (4.2–9.4) | 6.365 (4.1–9.2) | 0.396 |
| Neutrophils (mil/mm3) | 5.00 (3.46–7.39) | 4.82 (3.24–6.99) | 0.011 | 7.91 (5.48–10.7) | 8.16 (5.77–10.9) | 0.548 | 6.19 (4.25–9.33) | 6.07 (3.83–8.67) | 0.337 |
| Neutrophils % | 76 (66.6–84.4) | 74.1 (64.8–82.9) | < 0.001 | 88.2 (80.2–91.2) | 86.6 (80.3–91.1) | 0.348 | 81.7 (72.8–88) | 81.6 (72.3–89) | 0.798 |
| Basophils (mil/mm3) | 0.02 (0.01–0.03) | 0.02 (0.01–0.03) | 0.423 | 0.02 (0.01–0.03) | 0.01 (0.00–0.03) | 0.001 | 0.02 (0.01–0.04) | 0.02 (0.01–0.03) | 0.162 |
| Basophils % | 0.3 (0.2–0.5) | 0.3 (0.2–0.5) | 0.776 | 0.2 (0.1–0.3) | 0.1 (0.1–0.2) | < 0.001 | 0.265 (0.1–0.4) | 0.27 (0.1–0.4) | 0.460 |
| Eosinophils (mil/mm3) | 0.007 (0–0.036) | 0.008 (0–0.039 ) | 0.471 | 0 (0–0.016 ) | 0 (0–0) | 0.004 | 0.002 (0–0.021) | 0.001 (0–0.016 ) | 0.478 |
| Eosinophils % | 0.1 (0–0.5) | 0.1 (0–0.6) | 0.408 | 0 (0–0.1) | 0 (0–0) | 0.002 | 0.04 (0–0.3) | 0.01 (0–0.2) | 0.503 |
| Red blood cells (mil/mm3) | 4.52 (4.08–4.87) | 4.52 (4.09–4.91) | 0.281 | 4.17 (3.79–4.52) | 4.24 (3.80–4.59) | 0.280 | 4.31 (3.84–4.70) | 4.34 (3.84–4.72) | 0.585 |
| Erythroblasts (mil/mm3) | 0.001 (0–0.009) | 0.002 (0–0.01) | 0.088 | 0.001 (0–0.01) | 0 (0–0.01) | 0.695 | 0.001 (0–0.01 ) | 0.002 (0–0.01) | 0.456 |
| Erythroblasts % | 0.04 (0–0.1) | 0.06 (0–0.1) | 0.007 | 0.01 (0–0.1) | 0 (0–0.1) | 0.627 | 0.04 (0–0.1) | 0.04 (0–0.1) | 0.640 |
| Mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC) (g/dl) | 33.4 (32.8–34 ) | 33.5 (32.9–34.1) | 0.022 | 33.4 (33.0–34.1) | 33.5 (33.0–34.1) | 0.327 | 33.1 (32.6–33.7) | 33.1 (32.5–33.6) | 0.786 |
| Hemoglobin (g/dl) | 13.5 (12.3–14.6) | 13.6 (12.3–14.7) | 0.554 | 12.6 (11.3–13.7) | 12.8 (11.5–1..8) | 0.367 | 13 (11.7–14.2) | 1.1 (11.8–14.3) | 0.379 |
| Hematocrit (%) | 40.4 (36.9–43.5) | 40.4 (36.9–43.7) | 0.893 | 37.6 (34.1–40.4) | 37.7 (34.6–40.9) | 0.392 | 39.2 (35.4–42.8) | 39.4 (35.8–43.1) | 0.422 |
| Mean corpuscular volume (MCV) (fl) | 90.3 (86.6–93.6) | 90 (86.15–93.6) | 0.158 | 90.2 (87.6–93.3) | 90.4 (86–93.8) | 0.701 | 91.8 (87.7–95.3) | 92.2 (88.5–95.6) | 0.413 |
| Platelet count (mil/mm3) | 188 (143–246) | 190 (148–246) | 0.610 | 227 (169–288) | 242 (173–312) | 0.334 | 177 (136–230) | 172 (131–215) | 0.246 |
| Mean platelet volume (MPV) (fl) | 9.1 (8.4–9.9) | 9.2 (8.5–9.9) | 0.197 | 8.9 (8.275–9.7) | 8.9 (8.3–9.6) | 0.881 | 9.2 (8.7–10.2 ) | 9.4 (8.6–10.1) | 0.688 |
| Interleukin-6 (pg/ml) | 41.51 (17.18–50) | 32.5 (12.6–58.6) | 0.161 | 50 (21.5–82.2) | 50 (16.9–94.4) | 0.825 | 50 (36.3–84.2) | 50 (25.9–102.2) | 0.830 |
| C-reactive protein (mg/l) | 8.18 (2.75–15.07) | 5.52 (1.64–11.23) | < 0.001 | 14.56 (5.9–24.61) | 8.31 (2.44–15.5) | 0.001 | 11.15 (5.52–1.8) | 9.69 (2.48–17.52) | 0.065 |
| Procalcitonin (mg/l) | 0.13 (0.07–0.32) | 0.11 (0.07–0.24) | 0.084 | 0.36 (0.16–0.94) | 0.17 (0.09–0.57) | < 0.001 | 0.24 (0.13–0.73) | 0.24 (0.12–0.59) | 0.662 |
| Ferritin (ng/ml) | 452 (220–1003) | 614 (306–1190) | 0.007 | 1277 (583–2727) | 1145 (659–2026) | 0.971 | 460 (216–997) | 704 (360–1268) | 0.054 |
| Comorbidities/Previous diagnosis | |||||||||
| Ischemic Cardiopathy | 207 (8.1) | 180 (6.7) | 0.054 | 27 (8.1) | 17 (8.6) | 0.880 | 95 (12.2) | 62 (12.4) | 0.932 |
| Hypertension | 835 (38.2) | 877 (35.3) | 0.050 | 115 (38.5) | 56 (31.1) | 0.108 | 319 (50.6) | 234 (49.1) | 0.631 |
| Intermittent claudication | 109 (4.3) | 97 (3.6) | 0.261 | 19 (5.7) | 10 (5.1) | 0.854 | 66 (8.5) | 24 (4.8) | 0.014 |
| Cerebrovascular disease | 292 (11.5) | 248 (9.3) | 0.013 | 21 (6.3) | 11 (5.6) | 0.841 | 156 (20.0) | 106 (11.2) | 0.663 |
| Dementia | 354 (13.9) | 279 (10.4) | < 0.001 | 21 (6.3) | 2 (1.0) | 0.002 | 200 (25.7) | 125 (24.9) | 0.802 |
| Diabetes | 493 (19.4) | 588 (22.0) | 0.018 | 72 (21.7) | 56 (28.3) | 0.096 | 198 (25.4) | 147 (29.3) | 0.150 |
| Obesity | 366 (4.4) | 414 (15.5) | 0.251 | 69 (20.8) | 55 (27.8) | 0.090 | 96 (12.3) | 82 (16.4) | 0.048 |
| Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) | 367 (14.4) | 375 (14.0) | 0.717 | 52 (15.7) | 31 (15.7) | 1.000 | 137 (17.6) | 96 (19.2) | 0.506 |
| Previous pneumonia | 381 (15.0) | 230 (8.6) | < 0.001 | 76 (22.9) | 20 (10.1) | < 0.001 | 117 (15.0) | 47 (9.4) | 0.004 |
| Malignancy | 132 (5.2) | 124 (4.6) | 0.362 | 16 (4.8) | 8 (4.0) | 0.824 | 57 (7.3) | 32 (6.4) | 0.587 |
| Previous Treatment | |||||||||
| Gastric secretion inhibitors | 1045 (41) | 970 (36.3) | < 0.001 | 124 (37.3) | 72 (36.4) | 0.856 | 454 (58.3) | 273 (54.5) | 0.187 |
| Antidiabetics | 408 (16) | 471 (17.6) | 0.128 | 61 (18.4) | 56 (28.3) | 0.008 | 164 (21.1) | 114 (22.7) | 0.479 |
| Antithrombotics | 739 (29) | 688 (25.7) | 0.007 | 78 (23.5) | 43 (21.7) | 0.669 | 359 (46.1) | 219 (43.7) | 0.431 |
| Beta-blockers | 400 (15.7) | 364 (13.6) | 0.034 | 55 (16.6) | 27 (15.6) | 0.367 | 177 (22.7) | 105 (21) | 0.466 |
| Potassium-sparing diuretics | 115 (4.5) | 94 (3.5) | 0.07 | 9 (2.7) | 5 (2.5) | 1.000 | 61 (7.8) | 20 (4) | 0.007 |
| Anxiolytics | 276 (10.8) | 237 (8.9) | 0.019 | 46 (13.9) | 23 (11.6) | 0.511 | 184 (23.6) | 102 (20.4) | 0.200 |
| Antidementia drugs | 41 (1.6) | 37 (1.4) | 0.559 | 11 (3.3) | 1 (0.5) | 0.057 | 88 (11.3) | 68 (13.6) | 0.262 |
| Nutritional supplements | 194 (7.6) | 188 (7) | 0.198 | 9 (2.7) | 1 (0.5) | 0.088 | 78 (10) | 31 (6.2) | 0.021 |
ICU: intensive care unit; IQR: interquartile range; NA: not applicable.
Patients were grouped as hospitalized patients (total number of patients), admitted to the ICU, and deceased. Laboratory and clinical variables were baseline values and are presented as the median and interquartile range (IQR). Units are shown in parentheses. Values of sex, comorbidities and previous treatment are displayed as n and the percentage of total patients (%).