Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of the cohort with stratification according to interferon exposure
| All | Interferon-treated | Interferon-naïve | P value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of patients | 250 | 142 | 108 | --- |
| Age (year) | 52.7 ± 15.3 | 53.7 ± 14.9 | 51.4 ± 15.8 | 0.584 |
| Male sex | 126 (50.4%) | 70 (49.3%) | 56 (51.9%) | 0.689 |
| Smoking | 32/213 (15.0%) | 18/119 (15.1%) | 14/94 (14.9%) | 0.962 |
| Drinking | 44/206 (21.4%) | 22/113 (19.5%) | 22/93 (23.7%) | 0.466 |
| Abnormal TFT on admission | 51 (20.4%) | 32 (22.5%) | 19 (17.6%) | 0.337 |
| Baseline anti-TPO positivity | 51/246 (20.4%) | 26/142 (18.3%) | 25/104 (24.0%) | 0.274 |
| Baseline anti-Tg positivity | 25/246 (10.0%) | 16/142 (11.3%) | 9/104 (8.7%) | 0.503 |
| Baseline COVID-19 severity | 0.596 | |||
| Mild | 168 (67.2%) | 99 (69.7%) | 69 (63.9%) | |
| Moderate | 70 (28.0%) | 35 (24.6%) | 35 (32.4%) | |
| Severe | 12 (4.8%) | 8 (5.6%) | 4 (3.7%) | |
| Symptomatic on presentation | 201 (80.4%) | 119 (83.8%) | 82 (75.9%) | 0.120 |
| Comorbidities | ||||
| Hypertension | 60 (24.0%) | 34 (23.9%) | 26 (24.1%) | 0.981 |
| Diabetes | 36 (14.4%) | 22 (15.5%) | 14 (13.0%) | 0.572 |
| IHD/CHF | 11 (4.4%) | 6 (4.2%) | 5 (4.6%) | 0.999 |
| Stroke/TIA | 5 (2.0%) | 3 (2.1%) | 2 (1.9%) | 0.999 |
| Malignancy | 16 (6.4%) | 8 (5.6%) | 8 (7.4%) | 0.570 |
| Pulmonary disease | 13 (5.2%) | 6 (4.2%) | 7 (6.5%) | 0.426 |
| Clinical course | ||||
| Length of hospitalisation (days) | 8 (6–12) | 9 (7–13) | 6 (2–10) | <0.001 |
| Interferon beta-1b therapy | 142 (56.8%) | 142 (100%) | 0 (0%) | --- |
| Dexamethasone | 44 (17.6%) | 28 (19.7%) | 16 (14.8%) | 0.313 |
| Oxygen requirement | 31 (12.4%) | 20 (14.1%) | 11 (10.2%) | 0.354 |
| Intensive care unit admission | 8 (3.2%) | 6 (4.2%) | 2 (1.9%) | 0.472 |
TFT thyroid function test, IHD ischaemic heart disease, CHF congestive heart failure, TIA transient ischaemic attack