Results
Of the 289 patients in this study, the median age was 57 years (range,
22 - 88) and 155 (53.4%) patients were male. As of the final follow-up
date of this study, 240 (83.0%) patients were discharged from the
hospital and 49 (17.0%) patients died. Elder age, more underlying
comorbidities, and increased laboratory variables such as leucocyte
count, neutrophil count, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR),
C-reactive protein (CRP), procalcitonin (PCT), D-dimer, alanine
aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and blood urea
nitrogen (BUN) on admission were found in survived severe cases,
compared to non-severe cases. According to the multivariate logistic
regression analysis, elder age, a greater number of affected lobe(s),
elevated CRP levels on admission and increased prevalence of chest
tightness/dyspnea and smoking history were the independent risk factors
for the death of severe patients. A trajectory in PCA from ”non-severe”
towards ”non-survived” via ”severe & survived” patients was observed.
Strong correlations between the age of patients, the affected lobe
number(s) and laboratory variables were identified. Dynamic changes of
laboratory findings of survived severe cases and non-survived cases
during hospital stay showed that continuing increase of leucocytes and
neutrophil count, sustained lymphopenia and eosinopenia, progressing
decrease in platelet count, as well as high levels of NLR, CRP, PCT,
AST, BUN and serum creatinine were associated with in-hospital death.