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.