Data collection
Demographic
characteristics (age and gender), clinical characteristics
(comorbidities, laboratory findings, severity of illness scores,
treatments, complications and outcomes) were recorded. Clinical data
were reviewed independently by two physicians.
Patients
were followed for up to 28 days after inpatient hospital admission until
hospital discharge, or death, whichever came first. The primary outcome
of our study was defined as mortality after admission (during the 28-day
monitoring period). The secondary outcome of our study was defined as
the patient’s rate of progression to critical illness after admission
(during the 28-day period of monitoring).
The SARS-CoV-2 RNA shedding duration was defined as the interval between
illness onset and the date of the last pharyngeal swab with a positive
finding. We excluded the patients whose pharyngeal swab test remain
positive when died.
Corticosteroid treatment was defined as administration of a dose
equivalent to ≥25 mg of methylprednisolone per day during
hospitalization. The criteria for discharge were determined as: absence
of fever for at least 3 days, substantial improvement in both lungs as
determined by chest CT, clinical remission of respiratory symptoms, and
two throat-swab samples with a SARS-CoV-2 RNA negative finding obtained
at least 24 hours apart.