Introduction During the
coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in India, several characteristics of hospitalized
COVID-19 patients, based on demographics, mortality predictors, and presence of comorbidities, were found to be associated with poor outcomes. The objective of this study was to identify such epidemiological and clinical characteristics among the patients admitted at a tertiary-care center in India that may have predisposed them to COVID-19-related mortality. Methods This retrospective observational study conducted at the Department of Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, in May 2021 included 141
COVID-19 confirmed patients. The medical history, demographic characteristics, comorbidities, clinical findings, and laboratory data of each patient were obtained. The data were analyzed to identify significant clinical and laboratory parameters that led to the adverse final outcomes. Results
Hypertension was the most common comorbidity and the presence of diabetes with
hypertension led to poorer final outcomes. Lower oxygen saturation and requirement of
oxygen supplementation at admission along with worse prognostic scores during admission led to poorer outcomes. Twenty-seven patients needed
non-invasive ventilation (NIV) during the hospital course, and all ultimately landed up among the 56 patients who were managed on invasive
mechanical ventilation (IMV). Multivariate logistic regression analysis performed identified
COVID-19 severity at admission, co-existence of
hypertension and
diabetes mellitus, systolic blood pressure less than 90 mm Hg, and serum
creatinine greater than 1.2 mg/dL to be associated with higher
COVID-19 mortality. Conclusion
COVID-19 patients having the co-existence of diabetes and
hypertension constitute a high-risk group and may be targeted by prompt vaccination strategies. The presence of severe disease along with a need for
oxygen therapy and other
intensive care interventions ultimately led to unfavorable outcomes.