Morbidity and mortality pattern of COVID-19 patients and its associated risk factors: A cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: Early identification of patients with poor prognosis may facilitate the provision of proper supportive treatment in advance and reduce mortality due to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). The present study estimates the recovery and mortality rates among in-house COVID-19 patients admitted to a tertiary care center and also determines any association between mortality and variables of interest. METHODS AND MATERIAL: This cross-sectional study was conducted in June to December 2021 among the COVID-19 patients admitted to the hospital based on their case sheets. A sample size of 1500 was calculated which was obtained by simple random sampling. Descriptive statistics were generated. Association between mortality and other variables was tested by using bivariate logistic regression and multiple logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: The overall recovery rate was 80.1%. Vaccination status was significantly associated with mortality, with the AOR (95% CI) of getting both vaccine doses and a single dose being 0.18 (0.05-0.70) and 0.28 (0.15-0.55), respectively, when compared to the unvaccinated group. Also, patients who sought admission on their own were found to be having more chances of recovery compared to those who were referred from other health facilities. The risk of dying was found to be increased nearly 5-fold among those who used Non-Rebreathing machines. The use of Non-Invasive ventilation and Bain Circuit was significantly associated with a bad prognosis. None on the mechanical ventilation survived. CONCLUSIONS: The mortality rate of COVID-19 patients admitted to the tertiary care hospital was found to be one-fifth and the ICU-specific mortality rate was 83.6% while other factors like age and gender were not found to be associated with mortality. Among comorbidities, only liver diseases were found to be a significant determinant of mortality. Finally, patients who needed more flow rate of oxygen had a significant association with mortality.