Retrospective study of risk factors for mortality in critically ill patients with COVID-19

Abstract

Background: Mortality associated with COVID-19 varies in various reports, with minimal data on the factors associated with in-hospital mortality. Objective: To identify the risk factors for in-hospital death of patients with COVID-19 in an intensive care unit (ICU) in Qatar. Methods: A retrospective observational study of patients confirmed with COVID-19 and admitted to the medical-surgical ICU at The Cuban Hospital was carried out from April 12, 2020, to September 12, 2020. From patients’ electronic medical records, demographic, clinical, laboratory, and radiology data was collected. Results: 275 patients with COVID-19 were admitted to the ICU, and 32 (11.6%) died. 56.1% were men, and the mean age was 52.2 years. According to the univariate analysis, patients with diabetes mellitus with end-organ damage (37.5%), cardiovascular disease (31.3%), dementia (9.4%), kidney disease (28.1%), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (31.3%), and higher Charlson index had higher mortality. According to the multivariate analysis, an increase of mortality risk by 9% was observed for each additional year of age (Odds ratio [OR] 1.09; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.04–1.14), patients on mechanical ventilation (OR 27.33; 95% CI 3.21–232.46), and those with adult respiratory distress (OR 15.85; 95% CI 1.45–172.82) and elevated procalcitonin (OR 7.30; 95% CI 1.25–42.58), and the PiO2/FiO2 ratio between 100 and 299 decreased the risk of death by 92% (OR 0.08; 95% CI 0.02–0.39), in comparison to a PiO2/FiO2 ratio less than 100 or greater than 300. Conclusion: The study provides evidence about the risk of mortality among COVID-19 patients with a significant contribution of age, respiratory failure, and co-infections.