Table 2.
Demographics and clinical characteristics of the study cohort
| Characteristics | Overall n (%) |
First level n (%) |
Second level n (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 319 (100.0) | 276 (100.0) | 237 (100.0) |
| Age, years: Mean (SD) | 56 (13.6) | 54.8 (13.7) | 55.0 (13.7) |
| Gender: Female | 111 (34.8) | 102 (37.0) | 84 (35.4) |
| Race | |||
| Malay | 168 (52.7) | 147 (53.3) | 122 (51.5) |
| Chinese | 68 (21.3) | 54 (19.6) | 46 (19.4) |
| Indian | 52 (16.3) | 48 (17.4) | 44 (18.6) |
| Others | 31 (9.7) | 27 (9.8) | 25 (10.5) |
| Comorbidities profile | |||
| Hypertension: Yes | 179 (56.1) | 158 (57.2) | 135 (57.0) |
| Chronic cardiac disease: Yes | 64 (20.1) | 54 (19.6) | 46 (19.4) |
| Chronic pulmonary disease: Yes | 10 (3.1) | 8 (2.9) | 7 (3.0) |
| Asthma: Yes | 14 (4.4) | 13 (4.7) | 10 (4.2) |
| Diabetes mellitus: Yes | 147 (46.1) | 128 (46.4) | 110 (46.4) |
| Pre-existing renal disease: Yes | 73 (22.9) | 56 (20.3) | 46 (19.4) |
| Chronic liver disease: Yes | 3 (0.9) | 2 (0.7) | 2 (0.8) |
| Dementia: Yes | 3 (0.9) | 3 (1.1) | 2 (0.8) |
| Chronic neurological conditions: Yes | 16 (5.0) | 13 (4.7) | 10 (4.2) |
| Connective tissue disease: Yes | 7 (2.2) | 7 (2.5) | 5 (2.1) |
| HIV/AIDS: Yes | 2 (0.6) | 1 (0.4) | 1 (0.4) |
| Malignancy: Yes | 11 (3.4) | 9 (3.3) | 8 (3.4) |
| Current smoking: Yes | 9 (2.8) | 5 (1.8) | 4 (1.7) |
| Obesity: Yes | 17 (5.3) | 17 (6.2) | 16 (6.8) |
| Others: Yes | 81 (25.4) | 67 (24.3) | 51 (21.5) |
| COVID-19 severity when procalcitonin first sent | |||
| Category 4 | 254 (79.6) | 217 (78.6) | 181 (76.4) |
| Category 5 | 65 (20.4) | 59 (21.4) | 56 (23.6) |
| 4C mortality score | |||
| 0–3 (low-risk in-hospital mortality) | 16 (5.0) | 15 (5.4) | 13 (5.5) |
| 4–8 (intermediate-risk in-hospital mortality) | 117 (36.7) | 105 (38.0) | 87 (36.7) |
| 9–14 (high-risk in-hospital mortality) | 145 (45.5) | 124 (44.9) | 107 (45.1) |
| 15–21 (very high-risk in-hospital mortality) | 41 (12.8) | 32 (11.6) | 30 (12.7) |
| Steroid use: Yes | 297 (93.1) | 257 (93.1) | 219 (92.4) |
| Bloodstream infection: Yes | 35 (11.0) | 28 (13.0) | 25 (13.4) |
| Clinical outcomes | |||
| ICU admission: Yes | 143 (44.8) | 129 (46.7) | 120 (50.6) |
| NIV use: Yes | 65 (20.4) | 60 (21.7) | 57 (24.1) |
| Duration of NIV use, days, median (IQR) | 3 (1.8, 5.3) | 3 (1.8, 5.3) | 3 (1, 5) |
| Mechanical ventilation: Yes | 101 (31.7) | 89 (32.2) | 85 (35.9) |
| Duration of mechanical ventilation use, days, median (IQR) | 6 (4, 12) | 7 (4, 12) | 7 (4, 12) |
| Organizing pneumonia | |||
| Yes | 135 (42.3) | 118 (42.8) | 102 (43.0) |
| No | 26 (8.2) | 21 (7.6) | 19 (8.0) |
| CT scan not done | 158 (49.5) | 137 (49.6) | 116 (48.9) |
| Thrombotic event: Yes | 83 (26.0) | 69 (25.0) | 62 (26.2) |
| All-cause mortality: Yes | 71 (22.3) | 59 (21.4) | 55 (23.2) |
| Due to severe COVID-19 pneumonia | 48 (67.6) | 43 (72.9) | 39 (70.9) |
| Due to thrombotic event | 8 (11.3) | 7 (16.3) | 7 (17.9) |
| Due to comorbid | 7 (9.8) | 4 (9.3) | 4 (10.3) |
| Due to bacterial infections | 8 (11.3) | 5 (11.6) | 5 (12.8) |
| Bacteremia | 3 (4.2) | 1 (2.3) | 1 (2.6) |
| Intra-abdominal infection | 1 (1.4) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) |
| Necrotizing fasciitis | 1 (1.4) | 1 (2.3) | 1 (2.6) |
| Non-specified site | 1 (1.4) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) |
| Non-bacteremia | 5 (7.0) | 4 (9.3) | 4 (10.3) |
| Pulmonary infection | 2 (2.8) | 1 (2.3) | 1 (2.6) |
| Intra-abdominal infection | 1 (1.4) | 1 (2.3) | 1 (2.6) |
| Non-specified site | 2 (2.8) | 2 (4.7) | 2 (5.1) |
Column percentages are reported in parenthesis for categorical variables; mean and standard deviation are reported for continuous variable age; median and interquartile range are reported for continuous variables duration of non-invasive ventilation and mechanical ventilation
CT computed tomography, HIV/AIDS human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, ICU intensive care unit, NIV non-invasive ventilation