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Table 2 Characteristics of suspected and laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 (total n = 4157). All continuous variables presented in median (interquartile range)

From: Prehospital characteristics of COVID-19 patients in Helsinki – experience of the first wave of the pandemic

Variable

All patients

Suspected Covid-19

Confirmed Covid-19

P value

Age (years)

72.42 (52.08–82.5)

73.25 (53.83–83.17)

62 (44.83–78.19)

< 0.001

Sex, male (%)

2048 (49.4%)

1789 (49.5%)

259 (48.4%)

0.671

Native language other than Finnish or Swedish (%)

391 (9.8%)

259 (7.4%)

132 (26.6%)

< 0.001

Initial respiratory rate (/min)

20 (16–25)

20 (16–25)

19 (16–24)

0.181

Last respiratory rate (/min)

19 (16–24)

19 (16–24)

18 (16–24)

0.175

Initial blood oxygen saturation (%)

95 (92–97)

95 (92–97)

95 (92–97)

0.444

Last blood oxygen saturation (%)

96 (94–98)

96 (94–98)

95 (93–97)

0.086

Heart rate (/min)

94 (79–110)

94 (79–110)

91 (79–105)

< 0.01

Systolic blood pressure (mmHg)

138 (121–156)

139 (121–158)

133 (120–149)

< 0.001

Temperature (°C)

37.5 (36.9–38.4)

37.5 (36.8–38.3)

37.8 (37.1–38.6)

< 0.001

Blood glucose (mmol/l)

7 (6–8.7)

7.1 (6–8.7)

6.7 (5.8–8.7)

0.129

Urgency of dispatch

   

< 0.001

A

291 (7.0%)

273 (7.5%)

18 (3.4%)

 

B

891 (21.4%)

797 (22.0%)

94 (17.5%)

 

C

1250 (30.1%)

1088 (30.0%)

162 (30.2%)

 

D

1725 (41.5%)

1463 (40.4%)

262 (48.9%)

 

On-scene time (min)

25 (19–34)

25 (19–35)

23 (17–30)

< 0.001

Duration of the mission (min)

100 (78–130)

100 (79–128)

99 (72–135.25)

0.219

Transport rate (%)

3498 (84.1%)

3130 (86.4%)

368 (68.7%)

< 0.001