Table 1.
Patient characteristics, clinical features and laboratory measurements. Nominal data are presented as numbers with percentages, and continuous data are presented as medians with interquartile ranges. No significant differences were found.
| Total cohort (n = 49) | SARS-CoV-2 RNA detected in exhaled air (n = 12) | SARS-CoV-2 RNA not detected in exhaled air (n = 37) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Patient characteristics | |||
| Sex, % male | 34 (69.4%) | 9 (75.0%) | 25 (67.6%) |
| Age, years | 68 (52–75) | 65 (61–73) | 69 (51–76) |
| BMI, kg/m2 | 28.1 (25.6–31.1) | 28.7 (27.4–31.0) | 28.1 (25.2–31.2) |
| Comorbidities | 44 (89.8%) | 11 (91.7%) | 33 (89.2%) |
| Pulmonary disease | 18 (36.7%) | 7 (58.3%) | 11 (29.7%) |
| Cardiovascular disease | 31 (63.3%) | 9 (75.0%) | 22 (59.5%) |
| Diabetes mellitus | 11 (22.4%) | 3 (25.0%) | 8 (21.6%) |
| Chronic kidney disease | 5 (10.2%) | 0 (0.0%) | 5 (13.5%) |
| Auto-immune disease | 6 (12.2%) | 1 (8.3%) | 5 (13.5%) |
| Haematological malignancy | 2 (4.1%) | 1 (8,2%) | 1 (2.7%) |
| Solid organ malignancy | 8 (16.3%) | 3 (35.0%) | 5 (13.5%) |
| Solid organ transplantation | 1 (2.0%) | 0 (0.0%) | 1 (2.7%) |
| Liver disease | 2 (4.1%) | 1 (8.3%) | 1 (2.7%) |
| HIV/AIDS | 0 (0.0%) | 0 (0.0%) | 0 (0.0%) |
| Other | 22 (44.9%) | 5 (41.7%) | 17 (45.9%) |
| Immunosuppressive medication | 6 (12.2%) | 2 (16.7%) | 4 (10.8%) |
| Clinical features | |||
| Time from COVID-19 symptom onset to hospital admission, days | 8 (5–10) | 6 (4–12) | 8 (6–10) |
| Time from COVID-19 symptom onset to sampling, days | 10 (7–13) | 8 (6–14) | 11 (9–13) |
| Length of admission, days | 7 (4–12.5) | 8 (4–14) | 7 (4.5–12) |
| Immunomodulatory COVID-19 treatment | |||
| Corticosteroids | 43 (87.8%) | 11 (91.7%) | 32 (86.5%) |
| Reason of discharge | |||
| Clinical improvement | 36 (73.5%) | 8 (66.7%) | 28 (75.7%) |
| Transfer to rehabilitation centre | 8 (16.3%) | 1 (8.3%) | 7 (18.9%) |
| Patient deceased | 5 (10.2%) | 3 (25.0%) | 2 (5.4%) |
| Laboratory measurements | |||
| Hemoglobin, mmol/L | 8.3 (7.5–9.0) | 8.2 (7.5–8.9) | 8.4 (7.5–9.2) |
| Thrombocyte count, × 109/L | 226 (176–309) | 229 (162–277) | 226 (185–340) |
| Leucocyte count, × 109/L | 8.2 (6.2–11.1) | 7.6 (6.3–10.0) | 8.8 (6.2–11.3) |
| Neutrophil count, × 109/L | 6.5 (4.5–9.4) | 6.0 (5.3–8.5) | 7.6 (4.5–9.6) |
| Lymphocyte count, × 109/L | 0.8 (0.6–1.3) | 0.8 (0.6–1.3) | 0.8 (0.6–1.4) |
| Monocyte count, × 109/L | 0.5 (0.3–0.7) | 0.6 (0.3–0.8) | 0.5 (0.3–0.7) |
| Eosinophil count, × 109/L | 0.0 (0.0–0.0) | 0.0 (0.0–0.0) | 0.0 (0.0–0.0) |
| Basophil count, × 109/L | 0.0 (0.0–0.0) | 0.0 (0.0–0.0) | 0.0 (0.0–0.0) |
| C-reactive protein, mg/L | 51 (28–99) | 71 (35–175) | 47 (25–92) |
| Ferritin, µg/L | 959 (583–1594) | 939 (648–3061) | 959 (550–1541) |
| D-dimer, µg/L | 1505 (795–3502) | 2005 (948–3353) | 1080 (515–1815) |