TABLE 1.
Baseline characteristics of patients with confirmed severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection who developed severe coronavirus disease 2019 stratified by patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU)
| All | Patients admitted to the ICU | p-value | ||
| Yes | No | |||
| Patients, n | 40 440 | 20 044 | 20 396 | |
| Demographics | ||||
| Age, median (IQR) | 67 (55–78) | 61 (50–70) | 75 (62–84) | <0.0001 |
| Female, n (%) | 14 939 (36.9) | 6473 (32.2) | 8466 (41.5) | <0.0001 |
| Chronic comorbidities, n (%) | ||||
| Number of comorbidities, median (IQR) | 2.0 (0.0–3.0) | 1.0 (0.0–2.0) | 2.0 (0.0–4.0) | <0.0001 |
| Chronic arterial hypertension | 11 910 (29.5) | 5712 (28.5) | 6198 (30.4) | <0.0001 |
| Chronic cardiac disease | 8161 (20.2) | 2493 (12.4) | 5668 (27.8) | <0.0001 |
| Chronic cardiac arrhythmia | 38 (0.1) | 34 (0.2) | 4 (0.0) | <0.0001 |
| Chronic pulmonary disease | 4848 (12.0) | 1423 (7.1) | 3425 (16.8) | <0.0001 |
| Asthma | 3920 (9.7) | 1857 (9.3) | 2063 (10.1) | <0.0001 |
| Other chronic respiratory disease | 873 (2.2) | 148 (0.7) | 725 (3.6) | <0.0001 |
| Chronic neurological disorder | 2898 (7.2) | 798 (4.0) | 2100 (10.3) | <0.0001 |
| Chronic rheumatic disorder | 2736 (6.8) | 794 (4.0) | 1942 (9.5) | <0.0001 |
| Chronic kidney disease | 4151 (10.3) | 1252 (6.2) | 2899 (14.2) | <0.0001 |
| Mild liver disease | 413 (1.0) | 187 (0.9) | 226 (1.1) | 0.08 |
| Moderate or severe liver disease | 454 (1.1) | 163 (0.8) | 291 (1.4) | <0.0001 |
| Diabetes mellitus | 9141 (22.6) | 4343 (21.7) | 4798 (23.5) | <0.0001 |
| Chronic haematological disorder | 1069 (2.6) | 354 (1.8) | 715 (3.5) | <0.0001 |
| Chronic immunosuppressive disorders | 44 (0.1) | 44 (0.2) | 0 (0.0) | <0.0001 |
| Chronic immunosuppressive medication | 537 (1.3) | 194 (1.0) | 343 (1.7) | <0.0001 |
| Cancer | 680 (1.7) | 197 (1.0) | 483 (2.4) | <0.0001 |
| Malignant neoplasm | 2453 (6.1) | 797 (4.0) | 1656 (8.1) | <0.0001 |
| Solid organ transplant recipient | 192 (0.5) | 76 (0.4) | 116 (0.6) | 0.006 |
| AIDS/HIV | 178 (0.4) | 123 (0.6) | 55 (0.3) | <0.0001 |
| Asplenia | 46 (0.1) | 45 (0.2) | 1 (0.0) | <0.0001 |
| Dementia | 2774 (6.9) | 188 (0.9) | 2586 (12.7) | <0.0001 |
| Obesity | 4623 (11.4) | 2802 (14.0) | 1821 (8.9) | <0.0001 |
| Malnutrition | 628 (1.6) | 210 (1.0) | 418 (2.0) | <0.0001 |
| Symptoms on admission, n (%) | ||||
| Fever | 21 115 (52.2) | 10 578 (52.8) | 10 537 (51.7) | 0.02 |
| Abdominal pain | 2386 (5.9) | 1143 (5.7) | 1243 (6.1) | 0.09 |
| Bleeding (haemorrhage) | 463 (1.1) | 173 (0.9) | 290 (1.4) | <0.0001 |
| Fatigue/malaise | 12 391 (30.6) | 6317 (31.5) | 6074 (29.8) | <0.0001 |
| Shortness of breath | 23 955 (59.2) | 11 924 (59.5) | 12 031 (59.0) | 0.30 |
| Sore throat | 2464 (6.1) | 1619 (8.1) | 845 (4.1) | <0.0001 |
| Dry cough | 21 065 (52.1) | 10 230 (51.0) | 10 835 (53.1) | <0.0001 |
| Cough – productive | 6693 (16.6) | 3132 (15.6) | 3561 (17.5) | <0.0001 |
| Cough – with haemoptysis | 804 (2.0) | 444 (2.2) | 360 (1.8) | 0.0001 |
| Wheezing | 2294 (5.7) | 850 (4.2) | 1444 (7.1) | <0.0001 |
| Seizures | 352 (0.9) | 148 (0.7) | 204 (1.0) | 0.005 |
| Altered consciousness/confusion | 5964 (14.7) | 1759 (8.8) | 4205 (20.6) | <0.0001 |
| Disturbance or loss of smell (anosmia) | 1047 (2.6) | 614 (3.1) | 433 (2.1) | <0.0001 |
| Disturbance or loss of taste (ageusia) | 1275 (3.2) | 631 (3.1) | 644 (3.2) | 0.95 |
| Severe dehydration | 1614 (4.0) | 538 (2.7) | 1076 (5.3) | <0.0001 |
| Vomiting/nausea | 5006 (12.4) | 2469 (12.3) | 2537 (12.4) | 0.71 |
| Diarrhoea | 5335 (13.2) | 2872 (14.3) | 2463 (12.1) | <0.0001 |
| Muscle aches (myalgia) | 5562 (13.8) | 3397 (16.9) | 2165 (10.6) | <0.0001 |
| Chest pain | 3823 (9.5) | 1951 (9.7) | 1872 (9.2) | 0.05 |
| Headache | 2918 (7.2) | 1747 (8.7) | 1171 (5.7) | <0.0001 |
| Joint pain (arthralgia) | 1495 (3.7) | 739 (3.7) | 756 (3.7) | 0.91 |
| Skin ulcers | 419 (1.0) | 77 (0.4) | 342 (1.7) | <0.0001 |
| Lower chest wall indrawing | 528 (1.3) | 334 (1.7) | 194 (1.0) | <0.0001 |
| Skin rash | 304 (0.8) | 140 (0.7) | 164 (0.8) | 0.24 |
| Conjunctivitis | 110 (0.3) | 72 (0.4) | 38 (0.2) | 0.0001 |
| Runny nose (rhinorrhoea) | 927 (2.3) | 665 (3.3) | 262 (1.3) | <0.0001 |
| Ear pain | 95 (0.2) | 49 (0.2) | 46 (0.2) | 0.69 |
| Lymphadenopathy | 170 (0.4) | 59 (0.3) | 111 (0.5) | <0.0001 |
| Inability to walk | 279 (0.7) | 226 (1.1) | 53 (0.3) | <0.0001 |
| Anorexia | 349 (0.9) | 285 (1.4) | 64 (0.3) | <0.0001 |
| Asymptomatic | 272 (0.7) | 93 (0.5) | 179 (0.9) | <0.0001 |
| Physiological parameters on admission, median (IQR) | ||||
| Temperature, °C | 37.3 (36.7–38.2) | 37.4 (36.7–38.3) | 37.3 (36.6–38.1) | <0.0001 |
| Heart rate, beats·min−1 | 93 (8–108) | 96 (84–110) | 91 (79–105) | <0.0001 |
| Respiratory rate, breaths·min−1 | 24 (20–28) | 24 (20–30) | 22 (19–28) | <0.0001 |
| Systolic blood pressure, mmHg | 130 (114–145) | 130 (115–144) | 130 (114–146) | 0.02 |
| Diastolic blood pressure, mmHg | 74 (65–83) | 75 (65–83) | 74 (64–84) | 0.0001 |
| Continent of admission, n (%) | ||||
| Europe | 34 456 (85.2) | 12 427 (61.9) | 20 029 (98.2) | <0.0001 |
| Asia | 3292 (8.1) | 3140 (15.6) | 152 (0.7) | <0.0001 |
| South America | 1408 (3.5) | 1308 (6.5) | 100 (0.5) | <0.0001 |
| North America | 2614 (6.4) | 2505 (12.5) | 109 (0.5) | <0.0001 |
| Africa | 164 (0.4) | 159 (0.6) | 5 (0.0) | <0.0001 |
| Oceania | 506 (1.3) | 505 (2.5) | 1 (0.0) | <0.0001 |
| Regional income stratification, n (%) | ||||
| High-income country | 35 956 (88.9) | 15 810 (78.8) | 20 146 (98.7) | <0.0001 |
| Upper middle-income country | 1976 (4.8) | 1821 (9.1) | 155 (0.8) | <0.0001 |
| Lower middle-income country | 2496 (6.2) | 2401 (11.9) | 96 (0.5) | <0.0001 |
| Clinical outcomes | n=38 126 | n=18 831 | n=19 295 | |
| Hospital LOS, median (IQR) | 10 (5–19) | 12 (6–23) | 8 (4–15) | <0.0001 |
| 28-day fatality ratio, n (%) | 13 329 (34.9) | 5797 (30.7) | 7532 (39.0) | <0.0001 |
| 90-day fatality ratio, n (%) | 14 394 (37.7) | 6358 (33.7) | 8036 (41.6) | <0.0001 |
IQR: interquartile range; LOS: length of stay.