Baseline characteristics of COVID-19 patients
A total of 109 patients were included in the study. Table 1 shows the demographic and baseline characteristics of the patients according to the severity of COVID-19. Of all patients, 40 (32.5%) had mild disease, 40 (17.5%) had moderate disease, 27 (45%) had severe disease, and 2 (5%) had critical disease. The mean age of the patients was 51.1 ± 19.9 years, and 53 (48.6%) were male. No patients were vaccinated because COVID-19 vaccination was not introduced in South Korea during the study period. The mean body mass index (BMI) of the patients was 24.7 kg/m2. The mean Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) was as low as 1.8 ± 1.8. The median time from symptom onset to SARS-CoV-2 RT‒PCR testing was 1 day, and the mean SARS-CoV-2 RT‒PCR cycle threshold (Ct) value was 22.0 ± 6.8. The type of patient oxygen supplementation received by patients in the study was as follows: 82 (75.2%) received no oxygen supplementation, 21 (19.4%) received low-flow nasal cannula therapy and a facial mask with a reservoir, 4 (3.7%) received high-flow nasal cannula therapy, and 1 (0.9%) received invasive mechanical ventilation. Hydroxychloroquine was administered in 1 (0.9%), lopinavir/ritonavir in 21 (19.4%), remdesivir in 18 (16.7%), and corticosteroids in 28 (25.9%) patients. Total case fatalities were 0.9%, and the mean number of admission days was 12.5 ± 5.2. In the comparison of the mild/moderate and severe and critical groups, an older age, a higher mean BMI, and a higher CCI were associated with the severe/critical group rather than with the mild/moderate group. There was no significant differences in the mean SARS-CoV-2 RT‒PCR Ct value between the mild/moderate and severe/critical groups. High flow and invasive mechanical ventilation, lopinavir/ritonavir, remdesivir, and steroids were administered in the severe/critical group compared with the mid/moderate group. There were no significant differences in the laboratory results between the groups. However, C-Reactive Protein (CRP) was higher in the severe/critical group than in the mild/moderate group. Comparisons of laboratory findings between the groups are presented in Table 1. Only fatal patients were included in the severe/critical group.