Demographic and clinical characteristics associated with LBAI
A total of 440 patients with COVID-19 were included in the final
analysis. The median age was 63 years (IQR 18) and 233 (53%) were
female. Median follow-up time was 17 days (IQR 21). The total incidence
rate of cumulative LBAI was 57.7%, including 15.7% with ALI. The
different incidence rates of cumulative LBAI stratified by
sociodemographic and clinical characteristics were shown in table 1. The
likelihood of cumulative LBAI increased with age of patients, with a
2-fold risk in patients aged ≥65 years compared with those aged 50 years
or younger (OR 1.83; 95% CI 1.03 to 3.26). Female patients were at
higher risk of cumulative LBAI (OR 2.09; 95% CI 1.46 to 3.06) than
males.
Additional significant associated risk factors with LBAI included
comorbidities, especially diabetes, vital signs on admission (including
temperature, respiratory rate, pulse oximeter O2 saturation, and heart
rate), and severity of illness (qSOFA and CURB-65 scores). Compared to
general COVID-19 patients, LBAI occurred more often in severe and
critical patients with 2-fold (OR 2.86; 95% CI 1.78 to 4.59) and
13-fold (OR 13.44; 95% CI 7.21 to 25.07) higher likelihood,
respectively.