Table 3.
Associations of symptoms and complications and other outcome variables with COVID-19 severity; bivariate analysis.
| Variables | Total N = 829 (%) |
Severe COVID-19*, 129 (15.6%) |
Non severe COVID-19, 689 (83.1%) |
Bivariate analysis |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OR | 95% CI |
p | |||||
| Lowest | Highest | ||||||
| Treatments | |||||||
| Hydroxychloroquine | 42 (5.1) | 3 (2.3) | 39 (5.7) | 0.396 | 0.121 | 1.302 | 0.131 |
| Azithromycin | 331 (39.9) | 65 (50.4) | 265 (38.5) | 1.621 | 1.111 | 2.365 | 0.012 |
| Lopinavir/ritonavir | 82 (9.9) | 7 (5.4) | 75 (10.9) | 0.469 | 0.211 | 1.042 | 0.058 |
| Tocilizumab | 81 (9.8) | 16 (12.4) | 65 (9.4) | 1.357 | 0.758 | 2.430 | 0.303 |
| Anakinra | 3 (0.4) | 2 (1.6) | 1 (0.1) | 10.819 | 0.974 | 120.206 | 0.067 |
| Steroids | 549 (66.2) | 115 (89.1) | 429 (62.3) | 4.959 | 2.788 | 8.820 | <0.001 |
| GI symptoms at admission | |||||||
| 1 GI symptom | 616 (74.3) | 98 (76.0) | 510 (74.0) | 1.097 | 0.708 | 1.701 | 0.679 |
| ≥2 GI symptoms | 406 (49.0) | 53 (41.1) | 348 (50.5) | 0.679 | 0.464 | 0.995 | 0.046 |
| Type of GI symptom | |||||||
| Abdominal pain | 123 (14.8) | 17 (13.2) | 105 (15.2) | 0.919 | 0.528 | 1.599 | 0.765 |
| Nausea/vomiting | 128 (15.5) | 13 (10.1) | 112 (16.3) | 0.626 | 0.340 | 1.153 | 0.130 |
| Anorexia | 298 (35.9) | 48 (37.2) | 248 (36.0) | 1.186 | 0.796 | 1.766 | 0.401 |
| Diarrhoea | 237 (28.6) | 23 (17.8) | 213 (30.9) | 0.531 | 0.328 | 0.860 | 0.009 |
| Constipation | 90 (10.9) | 11 (8.5) | 79 (11.5) | 0.780 | 0.402 | 1.514 | 0.462 |
| Gas/bloating/flatulence | 92 (11.1) | 9 (7.0) | 81 (11.8) | 0.609 | 0.297 | 1.249 | 0.172 |
| Dysphagia | 24 (2.9) | 10 (7.8) | 14 (2.0) | 4.384 | 1.899 | 10.118 | <0.001 |
| Odynophagia | 28 (3.4) | 17 (13.2) | 11 (1.6) | 10.182 | 4.637 | 22.356 | <0.001 |
| Heartburn/GE reflux | 34 (4.1) | 6 (4.7) | 28 (4.1) | 1.242 | 0.503 | 3.067 | 0.638 |
| Respiratory symptoms | |||||||
| Dyspnoea | 430 (51.9) | 101 (78.3) | 329 (47.8) | 5.736 | 3.436 | 9.576 | <0.001 |
| Cough | 480 (57.9) | 89 (69.0) | 390 (56.6) | 2.172 | 1.404 | 3.358 | <0.001 |
| Expectoration | 147 (17.7) | 33 (25.6) | 114 (16.5) | 1.900 | 1.213 | 2.95 | 0.005 |
| Other non-GI symptoms | |||||||
| Ageusia | 195 (23.5) | 26 (21.7) | 167 (24.4) | 0.856 | 0.536 | 1.367 | 0.516 |
| Anosmia | 177 (21.4) | 22 (18.3) | 154 (22.5) | 0.773 | 0.470 | 1.269 | 0.307 |
| Disorientation | 75 (9.0) | 35 (29.2) | 40 (5.8) | 6.640 | 4.000 | 11.023 | <0.001 |
| Decreased level of consciousness | 71 (8.6) | 37 (30.8) | 34 (5.0) | 8.535 | 5.081 | 14.337 | <0.001 |
| Headache | 228 (27.5) | 37 (30.8) | 190 (27.7) | 1.161 | 0.762 | 1.771 | 0.487 |
| Myalgia | 254 (30.6) | 32 (26.7) | 221 (32.3) | 0.763 | 0.494 | 1.180 | 0.223 |
| Skin lesions | 25 (3.0) | 2 (1.7) | 23 (3.4) | 0.488 | 0.114 | 2.097 | 0.565 |
| Fever | 259 (31.2) | 59 (49.2) | 200 (29.2) | 2.345 | 1.582 | 3.478 | <0.001 |
| Liver damage, SOFA score, and CRP | |||||||
| Liver damage | 267 (32.2) | 56 (43.4) | 209 (30.3) | 1.762 | 1.200 | 2.587 | 0.004 |
| Deep vein thrombosis | 7 (0.8) | 3 (2.3) | 4 (0.6) | 4.077 | 0.902 | 18.438 | 0.083 |
| Pulmonary thromboembolism | 26 (3.1) | 4 (3.1) | 22 (3.2) | 0.970 | 0.329 | 2.864 | 1.000 |
| New onset arrhythmia | 15 (1.8) | 8 (6.2) | 7 (1.0) | 6.442 | 2.294 | 18.091 | 0.001 |
| SOFA score (points) | 1 (0–2) | 4 (2–6) | 1 (0–2) | 6.852 | 5.025 | 9.344 | <0.001 |
| CRP mg/dL | 6.3 (2.0–14.0) | 12.7 (5.3–24.5) | 5.6 (1.7–12.4) | 1.010 | 1.003 | 1.017 | <0.001 |
| Hospital stay length | |||||||
| Hospital stay length | 8 (5–12) | 13 (9–20) | 7 (5–10) | 1.112 | 1.083 | 1.143 | <0.001 |
The values in bold are those results that have reached statistical significance (p < 0.05).
Data were missing or unavailable data for 11 patients who could not be classified as having severe or non-severe COVID-19.
GI symptoms were adjusted by the baseline pre-COVID-19 presence of the symptoms, eliminating those cases in which the symptom presented before COVID-19. Qualitative variables expressed as absolute number (%). Quantitative variables expressed as mean and standard deviation (SD) or median and interquartile range (IQR). CI: confidence interval; CRP: C-reactive protein; GE reflux: gastroesophageal reflux; GI: gastrointestinal; OR: odds ratio; SOFA score: sepsis-related organ failure assessment score.
Severe COVID-19 was defined as a need for ICU admission, need for mechanical ventilation, and/or mortality during hospitalization.