Clinical characteristics of critically ill patients with COVID-19
infection: A retrospective single-centre study on 88 patients in the ICU
Abstract
Background: Ever since the COVID-19 pneumonia emerged in Wuhan, China,
in December 2019, it has rapidly spread worldwide, resulting in high
mortality. This study aimed to delineate the clinical characteristics of
critically ill patients with COVID-19 infection in the intensive care
unit. Methods: In this retrospective study, the clinical characteristics
of 88 critically ill patients with COVID-19 infection were collected.
Analysis among three subgroups, classified according to the survival
time, was performed. Results: The median age was 70.7(62.3-78.25) years
of critical ill patients. Hypertension (43.2%) was the most frequent
underlying disease. At the time of admission, compared to other
patients, patients of the≤7 days category showed greater impairment of
consciousness, as per the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) scores(11.0±2.9,
P<0.01). The lymphocyte percentages in all patients (4.1 ±
0.78) were much lower than the normal values. Particularly, acute kidney
failure occurred more frequently in patients of the ≤7 days category
(45.2%, P<0.01). The time distributions of the mortality
rates were 31deaths in ≤7 days, 33 deaths in 8–14days, and7 deaths in
>14days (P=0.01). Conclusion: Critically ill patients with
COVID-19 infection showed high risk of mortality. The primary immune
response of lymphocytes against the COVID-19 infection was severely
destroyed. Higher GCS score predicted greater possibility of survival.
However, acute kidney injury may be an indicator of worse outcome.