I nternational studies report that patients admitted to hospital with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have high rates of critical illness and mortality. 1-5 Two small Canadian case series have described care for critically ill patients with COVID-19 and found mortality rates of up to 25%. 6,7 However, outcomes of patients admitted to hospital for COVID-19 in Canada are not well described, particularly outside of intensive care units (ICUs). Case fatality rates for COVID-19 vary dramatically worldwide, 8 and outcomes of patients admitted to hospital for COVID-19 in Canada may differ from other countries because of differences in populations, public health and health care systems. Seasonal influenza is a useful comparator for COVID-19 9-11 as it is another respiratory virus, familiar to the general public, with high rates of morbidity and mortality. The purpose of this study was to describe patient characteristics, resource use, clinical care and outcomes for patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 in Ontario, Canada, using influenza as a comparator. We also validated the performance of various prognostic risk scores for in-hospital mortality among patients with COVID-19.
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