COVID-19 Outcomes according to SARS-CoV-2 Ct
Patients requiring hospitalisation were observed more commonly in A compared to C (74.5% vs 56.7%, p=0.031; Tab.2). COVID-19 severity resulted significantly worse in A compared either with B and C: an inverse distribution in the five categories of disease severity was observed with respect to Ct (p<0.01; Tab.2).
Lastly, COVID-19-related six-month outcomes were worse in A compared to the others: 29.1% of patients in A completely recovered at 6 months versus 70.9% and 80.0% in B and C. Additionally lethality was higher in A (36.4%) as compared to the others (B 12.7% and C 5.6%; Tab.2).
At multivariate analysis (after adjusting for sex, time from disease onset to swab and worst oxygen support required) lower SARS-CoV-2 Ct values together with older age and higher number of comorbidities were independently associated with higher risk of COVID-19-related death (binary logistic regression p<0.01; Tab.3). Similarly, lower SARS-CoV-2 Ct values, older age, male sex and number of comorbidities independently predicted a more severe COVID-19 in a model including also time from disease onset to swab collection (ordinal logistic regression p<0.01; Tab.3).