Chest dual-energy CT to assess the effects of steroids on lung function in severe COVID-19 patients

Table 2 Descriptive statistics for the two patients’ subgroups: No-Steroids group (left, simple size = 17) and Steroids group (right, simple size = 43)

	n	%	n	%	Fisher’s exact test (α = 0.05)
Female	1	6	11	26	0.15

Clinical history before ICU stay	n	%	n	%
Previous pulmonary disease	5	29	11	26	0.76
Thrombotic events before ICU	2	7	4	9	1

At ICU admission	Mean	SD	Mean	SD	Wilcoxon rank-sum test (α = 0.05)
Respiratory rate (bpm)	28	9	28	7	0.72
SAPS 3	51	7	51	11	0.97
Days of COVID-19 symptoms	11	3	11	3	0.84
F_IO₂	60	13	63	16	0.54
pH	7.46	0.05	7.45	0.06	0.56
PaCO₂ [mm Hg]	36	5	35	6	0.22
PaO₂/F_IO₂ ratio [mm Hg]	138	65	124	36	0.88
SpO₂ [%]	93	3	94	2	0.42
AaDO₂ [mm Hg]	326	102	332	106	0.9
Weight [kg]	100	20	96	17	0.49
Dalteparin [IE] /kg	133	45	148	41	0.11

	n	%	n	%	Fisher’s exact test (α = 0.05)
Intubated patients	5	29	16	37	0.77

On DECT day	Mean	SD	Mean	SD	Wilcoxon rank-sum test (α = 0.05)
Days from start of symptoms	16	8	13	6	0.45
Days from steroids therapy start	0	0	4	3	< 0.01
Days of invasive ventilation	9	6	6	7	0.31
PEEP [cm H₂O]	12	4	10	4	0.08
Static compliance	43	24	48	18	0.49
Tidal volume [mL]/kg PBW	8	2	9	4	0.37
pH	7.43	0.08	7.41	0.08	0.45
PaCO₂ [mm Hg]	42	12	42	10	0.95
PaO₂/FIO₂ ratio [mm Hg]	123	25	132	34	0.43
SpO₂ [%]	93	3	94	2	0.86
AaDO₂ [mm Hg]	284	81	267	99	0.63
Weight (kg)	100	21	95	17	0.43
Ferritin [µg/l]	2315	1676	1694	950	0.27
D-dimer [ng/ml]	9	13	5	11	0.72
Interleukin-6 (IL-6) [pg/ml]	218	155	40	19	0.21
Factor Xa [KIE/l]	0.55	0.23	0.53	0.2	0.18

	n	%	n	%	Fisher’s exact test (α = 0.05)
Intubated patients	8	47	16	37	0.77
Spontaneously breathing patients	9	52	27	69	1
Acute thrombotic events before DECT	7	41	6	14	0.03*

At ICU discharge	Mean	SD	Mean	SD	Wilcoxon rank-sum test (α = 0.05)
Days of invasive ventilation	12	8	5	3	0.14
Days of ICU stay	16	6	8	4	0.45
Highest ferritin [µg/l]	5067	4257	2046	1974	0.03*
Highest D-dimer [ng/ml]	26	42	10	20	0.9
Highest interleukin-6 (IL-6) [pg/ml]	449	564	95	71	0.01*

	n	%	n	%	Fisher’s exact test (α = 0.05)
Alive 30 days after ICU	12	71	31	72	0.49
Invasive mechanical ventilation	10	59	22	51	0.77
Thrombotic events	8	47	8	19	0.04*

Data were reported as mean ± standard deviation (SD) or numerosity (%). The analyzed variables are the same as in Table 1. Wilcoxon rank-sum test to detect statistical differences for continuous variables; (α = 0.05); Fisher’s exact test to detect statistical differences for categorical variables; (α = 0.05); *: to mark statistically significant differences.

ISSN: 1364-8535