Patient characteristics and admitting vital signs associated with COVID-19 related mortality among patients admitted with non-critical illness

• Published in: Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology 2020-09, p.1
• Main Authors: Sands, Kenneth, Wenzel, Richard, McLean, Laura, Korwek, Kimberly, Roach, Jonathon, Miller, Karla, Poland, Russell E, L. Hayley Burgess, Jackson, Edmund, Perlin, Jonathan B
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• DOI: 10.1017/ice.2020.461

Objective: Determine risk factors for mortality among COVID-19 patients admitted to a system of community hospitals in the United States. Design: Retrospective analysis of patient data collected from the routine care of COVID-19 patients. Setting: System of more than 180 acute care facilities in the United States. Participants: All admitted patients with positive identification of COVID-19 and a documented discharge as of May 12, 2020. Methods: Determination of demographic characteristics, vital signs at admission, patient comorbidities and recorded discharge disposition in this population to construct a logistic regression estimating the odds of mortality, particular for those patients characterized as not being critically ill at admission. Results: A total of 6180 COVID-19+ patients were identified as of May 12, 2020. The majority of COVID-19+ patients (77.8%, 4808) were admitted directly to a medical/surgical unit with no documented critical care or mechanical ventilation within 8 hours of admission. After adjusting for demographic characteristics, comorbidities, and vital signs at admission in this subgroup, the largest driver of the odds of mortality was patient age (OR: 1.07, 95% CI 1.06-1.08, p< 0.001). Decreased oxygen saturation at admission was associated with increased odds of mortality (OR: 1.09, 95% CI 1.06-1.12, p< 0.001) as was diabetes (OR: 1.57, 95% CI 1.21-2.03, p