Characteristics associated with hospitalisation and severity of illness following discharge from the ED
| Age-and sex- adjusted model | Multivariable-adjusted model* | |||
| OR (95% CI) | P value | OR (95% CI) | P value | |
| Age, per 10 years | 1.48 (1.32 to 1.66) | <0.001 | 1.34 (1.10 to 1.48) | <0.001 |
| Male sex | 1.27 (0.84 to 1.93) | 0.27 | – | – |
| African-American race | 0.77 (0.41 to 1.34) | 0.38 | 0.48 (0.23 to 0.92) | 0.05 |
| Hispanic ethnicity | 0.75 (0.47 to 1.19) | 0.23 | 0.61 (0.36 to 1.02) | 0.06 |
| Obesity | 2.13 (1.23 to 3.59) | 0.01 | – | |
| Hypertension | 2.11 (1.30 to 3.40) | 0.002 | 1.92 (1.07 to 3.41) | 0.03 |
| Diabetes mellitus | 2.78 (1.64 to 4.62) | <0.001 | 2.20 (1.18 to 4.02) | 0.01 |
| Prior myocardial infarction or heart failure | 3.13 (1.48 to 6.40) | 0.002 | 1.94 (0.80 to 4.54) | 0.13 |
| Prior COPD or asthma | 2.69 (1.59 to 4.45) | <0.001 | 2.21 (1.22 to 3.92) | 0.01 |
| Chronic kidney disease | 3.23 (1.50 to 6.75) | 0.002 | 2.04 (0.83 to 4.82) | 0.11 |
| Systolic blood pressure, per 10 mm Hg† | 0.84 (0.74 to 0.95) | 0.005 | 0.74 (0.66 to 0.90) | <0.001 |
| Diastolic blood pressure, per 10 mm Hg† | 0.79 (0.65 to 0.95) | 0.02 | – | – |
| Heart rate, per 10 beats per minute† | 0.93 (0.81 to 1.06) | 0.29 | – | – |
| Respiratory rate† | 1.04 (0.96 to 1.13) | 0.29 | – | – |
| Oxygen saturation† | 0.97 (0.86 to 1.10) | 0.64 | – | – |
| Maximal temperature >100.4°Fahrenheit† | 2.30 (1.41 to 3.71) | <0.001 | 2.89 (1.71 to 4.82) | <0.001 |
The primary outcome of COVID-19 severity score in the total sample was defined as an ordinal variable wherein: 0=never admitted, 1=admitted but never required intensive care, 2=required intensive care but never intubation and 3=required intubation.
All comorbidities (obesity, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, prior myocardial infarction or heart failure, prior COPD or asthma chronic kidney disease) were identified by ICD coding according to standard Elixhauser comorbidity definitions.8
Bolded characteristics were significant at a P value < 0.05 for both the Age- and sex-adjusted model as well as the Multivariable-adjusted model.
*To avoid model overfitting given the sample size, covariates included in the multivariable model were selected using stepwise backward selection by AIC.
†All vital signs were measured during the patient’s first clinical encounter in the ED.
AIC, Akaike Information Criteria; COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.