RESEARCH Table 1. Symptoms of 218 patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome Positive RT-PCR for coronavirus Negative RT-PCR for coronavirus Symptoms n=156 (%) n=62 (%) Time from symptoms onset to 4.5 ± 2.2 4.2 ± 2.4 sample collection (days) Fever 155 (99) 60 (97) Chill 120 (77) 51 (82.3) Malaise 103 (66) 34 (54.8) Myalgia 84 (53.8) 30 (48.4) Cough 66 (42.3) 27 (43.5) Rigor 65 (41.7) 27 (43.5) Headache 49 (31.4) 25 (40.3) Anorexia 37 (23.7) 14 (22.6) Sputum 28 (18) 13 (21) Shortness of breath 36 (23) 5 (8.1) Dizziness 23 (14.7) 17 (27.4) Diarrhea 22 (14.1) 9 (14.5) Sore throat 21 (13.5) 10 (16.1) Runny nose 15 (9.6) 9 (14.5) Chest pain 13 (8.3) 8 (12.9) Vomiting 12 (7.7) 5 (8) Palpitation 2 (1.3) 2 (3.2) Hemoptysis 1 (0.6) 1 (1.6) Confusion 1 (0.6) 1 (1.6) aFisher exact test was applied if p value was <5; RT-PCR, reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction; p values in bold are significant. p value 0.366 0.139 0.388 0.123 0.467 0.867 0.800 0.210 0.858 0.607 0.012 0.029 0.937 0.611 0.297 0.302 0.926 0.320 0.497 0.497 By multivariate analysis, independent predictors of 30-day mortality were RT-PCR positivity on NPA samples (odds ratio [OR] 6.4; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.1 to 38.0; p = 0.038), shortness of breath on admission (OR 3.9; 95% CI 1.2 to 12.3; p = 0.02), presence of important coexisting condition (OR 13.4; 95% CI 3.1 to 58.2; p = 0.001), total leukocyte count >4.0 x 109/L (OR, 6.94; 95% CI 1.18 to 41.6; p = 0.033), and pulsing doses of methylprednisolone (OR 26.0; 95% CI 4.4 to 154.8; p = 0.001) (Table 4). Table 2. Vital signs and laboratory findings in 218 patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome Positive RT-PCR for coronavirus Negative RT-PCR for coronavirus (n = 156) (n = 62) p value Vital sign upon admission Temperature (°C) 38.5 ± 0.9 38.4 ± 0.9 0.774 Heart rate 95 ± 14 98 ± 16 0.571 Systolic blood pressure 127 ± 18 130 ± 19 0.503 Diastolic blood pressure 71 ± 11 73 ± 12 0.450 Laboratory findings upon admission Hemoglobin level (g/dL) 13.3 ± 1.4 13.0 ± 1.6 0.160 Leukocyte count (x 109/L) 5.5 ± 2.7 5.5 ± 1.9 0.954 Neutrophil count (x 109/L) 4.3 ± 2.6 4.2 ± 2.3 0.885 Lymphocyte count (x 109/L) 0.8 ± 0.3 0.9 ± 0.3 0.045 Platelet count (x 109/L) 155 ± 55 166 ± 50 0.137 Prothrombin time (sec) 12 ± 2 12 ± 1 0.396 Activated partial thromboplastin time (sec) 35 ± 10 33 ± 5 0.094 Sodium level (mmol/L) 134 ± 4 134 ± 3 0.423 Potassium level (mmol/L) 3.6 ± 0.5 3.5 ± 0.4 0.787 Urea level (mmol/L) 3.7 ± 1.8 3.6 ± 4 0.200a Creatinine level (mmol/L) 74 ± 19 80 ± 79 0.885a Albumin level (g/L) 37± 4 38 ± 5 0.112 Globulin (g/L) 33 ± 5 33 ± 4 0.737 Bilirubin (mmol/L) 9 ± 6 8 ± 5 0.798 Alkaline phosphatase (IU/L) 75 ± 58 67 ± 33 0.245a Alanine aminotransferase (IU/L) 43 ± 41 33 ± 30 0.051a Creatinine phosphokinase (IU/L) 422 ± 1987 189 ± 391 0.118a Lactate dehydrogenase (IU/L) 287 ± 141 208 ± 67 0.001a aComparison made after log-transformation of data; RT-PCR, reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction; p values in bold are significant. 1384 Emerging Infectious Diseases • www.cdc.gov/eid • Vol. 9, No. 11, November 2003