Determinants of in-hospital mortality in COVID-19; a prospective cohort study from Pakistan

Sarfaraz, S.; Shaikh, Q.; Saleem, S. G.; Rahim, A.; Herekar, F. F.; Junejo, S.; Hussain, A.

A prospective cohort study was conducted at the Indus Hospital Karachi, Pakistan between March and June 2020 to describe the determinants of mortality among hospitalized COVID-19 patients. 186 adult patients were enrolled and all-cause mortality was found to be 36% (67/186). Those who died were older and more likely to be males (p<0.05). Temperature and respiratory rate were higher among non-survivors while Oxygen saturation was lower (p<0.05). Serum CRP, D-dimer and IL-6 were higher while SpO2 was lower on admission among non-survivors (p<0.05). Non-survivors had higher SOFA and CURB-65 scores while thrombocytopenia, lymphopenia and severe ARDS was more prevalent among them (p<0.05). Use of non-invasive ventilation in emergency room, ICU admission and invasive ventilation were associated with mortality in our cohort (p<0.05). Length of hospital stay and days of intubation were longer in non-survivors (p<0.05). Use of azithromycin, hydroxychloroquine, steroids, tocilizumab, antibiotics, IVIG or anticoagulation showed no mortality benefit (p>0.05). Multivariable logistic regression showed that age > 60 years, oxygen saturation <93% on admission, pro-calcitonin > 2 ng/ml, unit rise in temperature and SOFA score, ICU admission and sepsis during hospital stay were associated with higher odds of mortality. Larger prospective studies are needed to further strengthen these findings.