This retrospective study included 338 Caucasian patients, over the age of 18, admitted to the Department of Internal Medicine at the University Hospital Graz and to Landeskrankenhaus Graz II, with a diagnosis of COVID‐19, between March and May 2020 during the first wave of coronavirus infection in Austria. All study participants tested positive for SARS‐CoV‐2 RNA by real‐time PCR (qPCR). After extraction using the EMAG® platform (bioMérieux S.A., Marcy l'Etoile, France), nucleic acids were amplified using the RIDA® GENE SARS‐CoV‐2 (r‐biopharm, Darmstadt, Germany) with the LightCycler® 480 II (Roche Molecular Diagnostics, Rotkreuz, Switzerland). Additionally, the Cobas® SARS‐CoV‐2 test (Roche Molecular Systems, Branchburg, NJ) was applied on the Cobas® 6800/8800 system (Roche Molecular Diagnostics).49 (link)
The diagnosis of COVID‐19 was established based on the national guidelines published by the Austrian Ministry of Health.50 Admission referred to COVID‐19‐related hospitalization, and mortality was defined as all‐cause mortality in SARS‐CoV‐2 infected patients.51 (link), 52 (link)
Demographic information and concurrent diagnoses, based on the International Classification of Diseases (ICD‐10), were obtained from the electronic health records of patients.
The study was approved by the local Ethics Committee at the Medical University of Graz (32‐436 ex 19/20).
The diagnosis of COVID‐19 was established based on the national guidelines published by the Austrian Ministry of Health.50 Admission referred to COVID‐19‐related hospitalization, and mortality was defined as all‐cause mortality in SARS‐CoV‐2 infected patients.51 (link), 52 (link)
Demographic information and concurrent diagnoses, based on the International Classification of Diseases (ICD‐10), were obtained from the electronic health records of patients.
The study was approved by the local Ethics Committee at the Medical University of Graz (32‐436 ex 19/20).
