Comportamiento del virus COVID-19 en una unidad de cuidados intensivos

INTRODUCTION: The COVID-19 pandemic affected public health. OBJECTIVE: To describe the behavior of COVID-19 virus in patients with a confirmed diagnosis in the ICU of the San Juan de Dios University Hospital in Armenia between April and June 2020. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Descriptive cross-sectional study. Variables are described in mean, standard deviation and confidence intervals. A comparative analysis is made by sex and outcome, analysis of variance and Chi square were performed and statistical difference was considered when the p value was less than 0.05. RESULTS: Sixty patients were included, 38% female and 62% male, with a significant difference by gender (p value = .003). The average age was 57 ± 1 years. Symptoms were dyspnea in 98.3%, dyspnea and cough in 38%, dyspnea and fever in 32%, and dyspnea, cough and fever in 12%. The comorbidities were arterial hypertension 33%, diabetes mellitus 21% and obesity 25%. Dimer D (763 ng/ml), ferritin (1253 ng/ml) and LDH (426 U/l) were elevated. The oxygenation index was decreased (114 mm/Hg). Chest X-rays showed pneumonia in 78% and infiltrates in all four quadrants in 7%, and chest CT showed a ground glass image in 47% and multifocal pneumonia in 20%. The average stay in the ICU was 13.55 days, with a range between 0 and 41 days. CONCLUSIONS: The patients presented a moderate to severe oxygenation disorder, which is why they required mechanical ventilation and prone position and 45% died.