Baseline and hospitalisation characteristics of patients who were evaluated by telephone 4 months after hospital discharge according to the presence of new-onset dyspnoea
| Available data | All patients (478) | Patients with new-onset dyspnoea (78) | Patients without new-onset dyspnoea (400) | p-value | |
| Demographic data | |||||
| Age, years | 478 | 61.0±16.1 | 56.1±12.3 | 61.9±16.6 | 0.001 |
| Women | 478 | 201 (42.1%) | 30 (38.5%) | 171 (42.8%) | 0.56 |
| Body mass index, kg·m–2 | 351 | 28.8±5.6 | 29.0±5.1 | 28.8±5.8 | 0.69 |
| Smoking | |||||
| No (<5 pack-years) | 452 | 343 (75.9%) | 60 (81.1%) | 283 (74.9%) | |
| Former (≥5 pack-years) | 452 | 83 (18.4%) | 11 (14.9%) | 72 (19.0%) | 0.63 |
| Active | 452 | 26 (5.8%) | 3 (4.1%) | 23 (6.1%) | |
| Pre-COVID-19 comorbidities | |||||
| Respiratory disease | |||||
| 478 | 17 (3.6%) | 2 (2.6%) | 15 (3.8%) | 1 |
| 478 | 75 (15.7%) | 12 (15.4%) | 63 (15.8%) | 1 |
| Hypertension | 478 | 225 (47.1%) | 30 (38.5%) | 195 (48.8%) | 0.12 |
| Chronic heart disease | 478 | 77 (16.1%) | 4 (5.1%) | 73 (18.2%) | 0.007 |
| Diabetes | 478 | 128 (26.8%) | 24 (30.8%) | 104 (26.0%) | 0.47 |
| Chronic kidney disease | 478 | 51 (10.7%) | 2 (2.6%) | 49 (12.2%) | 0.02 |
| Declared psychiatric disorder | 478 | 42 (8.8%) | 5 (6.4%) | 37 (9.3%) | 0.55 |
| Neurodegenerative disorder | 478 | 34 (7.1%) | 0 (0%) | 34 (8.5%) | 0.02 |
| Alcohol misuse | 450 | 21 (4.7%) | 3 (4.1%) | 18 (4.8%) | 1 |
| Active cancer | 478 | 18 (3.8%) | 2 (2.6%) | 16 (4.0%) | 0.75 |
| Other immunosuppression | 478 | 18 (3.8%) | 2 (2.6%) | 16 (4.0%) | 0.75 |
| Long-term dialysis | 478 | 17 (3.6%) | 0 (0%) | 17 (4.3%) | 0.09 |
| HIV infection | 478 | 12 (2.5%) | 1 (1.3%) | 11 (2.8%) | 0.7 |
| Solid organ transplantation | 478 | 9 (1.9%) | 1 (1.3%) | 8 (2.0%) | 1 |
| Liver disease | 478 | 7 (1.5%) | 2 (2.6%) | 5 (1.3%) | 0.32 |
| Pregnancy | 478 | 5 (1.1%) | 0 (0%) | 5 (1.3%) | 1 |
| Hospitalisation characteristics | |||||
| Total duration of hospitalisation, days | 478 | 9 (4–15) | 13 (7–23) | 8 (4–14) | <0.001 |
| Hospitalisation in the ICU | 478 | 142 (29.7%) | 44 (56.4%) | 98 (24.5%) | <0.001 |
| Duration of ICU stay, days | 141 | 9 (4–19) | 9 (4–21) | 9 (4–19) | 0.73 |
| High flow oxygen | 142 | 62 (43.7%) | 20 (45.5%) | 42 (42.9%) | 0.92 |
| Intubation during hospitalisation | 142 | 73 (51.4%) | 25 (56.8%) | 48 (49.0%) | 0.50 |
| Duration of intubation, days | 73 | 18 (11–32) | 24 (12–38) | 16 (11–27) | 0.21 |
| Pulmonary embolism | 430 | 39 (9.1%) | 14 (18.0%) | 25 (6.8%) | <0.001 |
| Active anticoagulation (at the full therapeutic dose) | 478 | 75 (15.7%) | 30 (38.5%) | 45 (11.2%) | <0.001 |
| Specific treatments during hospitalisation | |||||
| Azithromycin | 478 | 120 (25.1%) | 28 (35.9%) | 92 (23.0%) | 0.02 |
| Anti-IL-6 | 478 | 37 (7.7%) | 12 (15.4%) | 25 (6.2%) | 0.01 |
| Hydroxychloroquine | 478 | 32 (6.7%) | 9 (11.5%) | 23 (5.8%) | 0.10 |
| Corticosteroids | 478 | 24 (5.0%) | 1 (1.3%) | 2 (5.8%) | 0.15 |
| Lopinavir/ritonavir | 478 | 16 (3.4%) | 6 (7.7%) | 10 (2.5%) | 0.03 |
| Anti-IL-1 | 478 | 11 (2.3%) | 3 (3.9%) | 8 (2.0%) | 0.40 |
| Remdesivir | 478 | 5 (1.1%) | 1 (1.3%) | 4 (1.0%) | 0.59 |
Values are expressed as the median (interquartile range), mean±sd, or number and frequency. The p-values refer to a comparison between patients with and without new-onset dyspnoea. COPD: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; COVID-19: coronavirus disease 2019; ICU: intensive care unit; IL: interleukin.