Epidemiology and Risk Factors of COVID-19-Related Mortality

Introduction During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in India, several characteristics of hospitalized COVID-19 patients, based on demographics, mortality predictors, and presence of comorbidities, were found to be associated with poor outcomes. The objective of this study was to identify such epidemiological and clinical characteristics among the patients admitted at a tertiary-care center in India that may have predisposed them to COVID-19-related mortality. Methods This retrospective observational study conducted at the Department of Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, in May 2021 included 141 COVID-19 confirmed patients. The medical history, demographic characteristics, comorbidities, clinical findings, and laboratory data of each patient were obtained. The data were analyzed to identify significant clinical and laboratory parameters that led to the adverse final outcomes. Results Hypertension was the most common comorbidity and the presence of diabetes with hypertension led to poorer final outcomes. Lower oxygen saturation and requirement of oxygen supplementation at admission along with worse prognostic scores during admission led to poorer outcomes. Twenty-seven patients needed non-invasive ventilation (NIV) during the hospital course, and all ultimately landed up among the 56 patients who were managed on invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV). Multivariate logistic regression analysis performed identified COVID-19 severity at admission, co-existence of hypertension and diabetes mellitus, systolic blood pressure less than 90 mm Hg, and serum creatinine greater than 1.2 mg/dL to be associated with higher COVID-19 mortality. Conclusion COVID-19 patients having the co-existence of diabetes and hypertension constitute a high-risk group and may be targeted by prompt vaccination strategies. The presence of severe disease along with a need for oxygen therapy and other intensive care interventions ultimately led to unfavorable outcomes.