1-year survival rate of SARS-CoV-2 infected patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome based on ventilator types: a multi-center study

The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between types of ventilator and the one-year survival rate of patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) due to SARS‑CoV-2 infection. This multi-center, retrospective observational study was conducted on 1078 adult patients admitted to five university-affiliated hospitals in Iran who underwent mechanical ventilator (MV) due to ARDS. Of the 1078 patients, 781 (72.4%) were managed with ICU ventilators and 297 (27.6%) with transport ventilators. Overall mortality was significantly higher in patients supported with transport ventilator compared to patients supported with ICU ventilator (16.5% vs. 9.3% P = 0.001). Regression analysis revealed that the expected hazard overall increased with age (HR: 1.525, 95% CI 1.112–1.938, P = 0.001), opacity score (HR: 1.448, 95% CI 1.122–2.074, P = 0.001) and transport ventilator versus ICU ventilator (HR: 1.511, 95% CI 1.143–2.187, P = 0.029). The Kaplan–Meier curves of survival analysis showed that patients supported with ICU ventilator had a significantly higher 1-year survival rate (P = 0.001). In MV patients with ARDS due to COVID-19, management with non-ICU sophisticated ventilators was associated with a higher mortality rate compared to standard ICU ventilators. However, more studies are needed to determine the exact effect of ventilator types on the outcome of critically ill patients.