3.1 Baseline Clinical Characteristics
Of the initial 3,046 patients with COVID-19 enrolled in our study, 48
patients with no record of survival status, 29 patients without
classification of disease severity, and 15 patients with suspected CAD
but with no diagnosis were excluded. Among the final cohort of 2,954
patients, the median age was 60 years (range, 50-68 years), 1,461
(49.5%) were female, and 1,515 (51.3%) were severe/critical cases. The
median hospital stay for severe/critical patients was significantly
longer than that for mild/moderate cases. Compared with mild/moderate
cases, severe/critical patients were more likely to experience chest
congestion. Comorbidities were more prevalent among severe/critical
patients compared to mild/moderate cases, including hypertension,
diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cerebrovascular disease, cancer, and
chronic obstructive pulmonary disease ( Table 1 ).
In terms of radiological and laboratory findings, severe/critical
patients had more incidences of fuzzy boundaries and consolidation
(Table 1) and significantly higher levels of C-reactive protein
(CRP), D-dimer, interleukin-6 (IL-6), procalcitonin (PCT), and higher
percentages of neutrophils (NEUT%), lymphocytes (LYM%), and monocytes
(MONO%) within the first week of admission (Figure 1) . Serum
cardiac markers, namely, BNP, hs-TNI, α-HBDH, CK-MB, and LDH, were also
drastically elevated in severe/critical patients during the first week
(Figure 1 ). In general, the results showed more pronounced
activation of pathophysiological pathways in more severe cases of
COVID-19.