Abstract
Patients suffering from CVOID-19 mostly experience a benign course of the disease. Approximately 14% of SARS-CoV2 infected patients are admitted to a hospital. Cohorts exhibiting severe lung failure in the form of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) have been well characterized. Patients without ARDS but in need of supplementary oxygen have received much less attention. This study describes the diagnosis, symptoms, treatment and outcomes of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 needing oxygen support during their stay on regular ward. All 133 patients admitted to the RWTH Aachen university hospital with the diagnosis of COVID-19 were included in an observational registry. Clinical data sets were extracted from the hospital information system. This analysis includes all 57 patients requiring supplemental oxygen not admitted to the ICU. 57 patients needing supplemental oxygen and being treated outside the ICU were analyzed. Patients exhibited the typical set of symptoms for COVID-19. Of note, hypoxic patients mostly did not suffer from clinically relevant dyspnea despite oxygen saturations below 92%. Patients had fever for 7 [2–11] days and needed supplemental oxygen for 8 [5–13] days resulting in an overall hospitalization time of 12 [7–20] days. In addition, patients had persisting systemic inflammation with CRP levels remaining elevated until discharge or death. This description of COVID-19 patients requiring oxygen therapy should be taken into account when planning treatment capacity. Patients on oxygen need long-term inpatient care.
Highlights
Patients suffering from CVOID-19 mostly experience a benign course of the disease
57 consecutive patients being hospitalized outside the intensive care unit (ICU) on an isolation ward for SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia between February and April 2020 were included into the analysis
This study characterizes patients suffering from COVID-19 that require supplemental oxygen therapy but do not exhibit severe Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) and can be treated outside the ICU
Summary
Patients suffering from CVOID-19 mostly experience a benign course of the disease. Approximately 14% of SARS-CoV2 infected patients are admitted to a hospital. This study describes the diagnosis, symptoms, treatment and outcomes of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 needing oxygen support during their stay on regular ward. Clinical data sets were extracted from the hospital information system This analysis includes all 57 patients requiring supplemental oxygen not admitted to the ICU. Among hospitalized patients, the presence and severity of respiratory failure are usually the most important clues in making the decision about admitting to the intensive care unit (ICU) in order to provide ventilatory support (non-invasive or invasive ventilation) or to treat on the regular ward. There is a group of patients which have hypoxemic respiratory failure, but still could be managed on regular ward with supplemental oxygen therapy. We describe the diagnosis, symptoms, treatment and outcomes of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 needing oxygen support during their stay on regular ward. Characteristics Age, years Female sex Initial symptoms Fever Cough Dyspnea Fatigue Gastrointestinal Symptoms Diarrhea Emesis Nausea Tiredness Myalgia Loss of Taste Loss of Smell Headache Sore throat Angina pectoris Pharyngalgia Rhinorrhoea Symptom onset to Hospitalization, days Inpatient treatment Patients with antibiotic therapy Duration of antibiotic therapy, days COVID-19 specific treatment Periods, days Fever days Hospitalization Oxygen supplementation Outcome Survivor Non-Survivor Ongoing hospitalization Discharge location Home Rehabilitation Hospice Nursing facility Discharge with oxygen therapy
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