Examining the Clinical and Laboratory Findings of Patients with COVID-19 Hospitalized in the ICU (A Cross-sectional Study)

Abstract

Background The clinical care for patients suffering from COVID-19 requires knowledge of clinical and laboratory findings. Aim This study aims to investigate the clinical and laboratory findings related to patients with COVID-19 who were hospitalized in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Methods The cross-sectional study was conducted on 529 patients with COVID-19 who were hospitalized in the ICU department of Imam Khomeini Hospital in Jiroft. The information is based on the researcher's checklist and was collected from the patient files by referring to the hospital archives. Data were analyzed using SPSS-26 statistical software. Results The average age of the patients was 68.7 ± 27.9 years, and the average total hospitalization time was 7.8 days. The rate of hospitalization was higher in men than in women. The most common clinical symptoms of the patients on arrival were cough, fever, and chest pain. Cardiovascular diseases, blood pressure, and diabetes were among the factors related to the hospitalization of patients with COVID-19. The mortality rate in the present study was 30.6%. An increase beyond the normal range was observed in the mean white blood cell count, red blood cell sedimentation time, and blood creatinine. Conclusion The results of this research showed that elderly men with at least one underlying disease are among the factors related to the hospitalization of patients in the ICU, which requires special attention in how to treat and follow them because of the increase in hospitalization time in this group and consequently its financial burden is imposed on the health system.