Risk Factors of COVID-19 Critical Outcomes in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: Multicountry Retrospective Study

Abstract

Background The establishment of empirical evidence in the Eastern Mediterranean Region necessitates the implementation of wide-scale studies to describe the demographic, clinical features, and severity profile of patients with COVID-19. Objective This study aims to assess the patterns of COVID-19 severity and mortality in seven countries, and to determine the risk factors of COVID-19 severity and mortality. Methods This multicountry study was based on a retrospective review of medical records of hospitalized patients confirmed to have COVID-19. This study includes data from Iraq, Pakistan, Sudan, Somalia, Morocco, Egypt, and Yemen. All demographic and clinical data were extracted from hospital records (paper files) by trained data collectors. Results A total of 4141 patients were included in this study from seven countries. Comorbidities were reported by nearly half of the patients, with hypertension (n=1021, 24.7%) and diabetes (n=939, 22.7%) being the most common. Older age, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and heart diseases were significantly associated with COVID-19 severity and mortality. Ever smoking and renal diseases were significantly associated with severity but not mortality, while male gender, respiratory diseases, and malignancy were significantly associated with mortality but not severity. Conclusions The study confirms the role of comorbidities and demographic features on the severity and mortality of COVID-19. Understanding the contributing factors ensures attentive care and informs clinical management of patients with poorer prognoses in the early stages of diseases.

Post-acute COVID-19 symptom risk in hospitalized and non-hospitalized COVID-19 survivors: A systematic review and meta-analysis

“…COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which has the characteristics of strong contagion and high mortality ( 1 , 2 ). As of May 16th, 2022, there have been 519 million cumulative confirmed cases resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic according to the live world statistics released by the World Health Organization.…”

Published Research on COVID-19 in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: Bibliometric Analysis

“…Disparities in global access to vaccines, increasing vaccine hesitancy, impractical long-term implementation of preventive public health measures, and the continuous emergence of new variants are some of these challenges [ 1 - 3 ]. The Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) remains at high risk of COVID-19 case surges with the associated short- and long-term consequences primarily due to the combination of the aforementioned causes, added to which are the specific regional environment with protracted conflicts; high denial attitude toward the pandemic; chronically stressed health systems; and the presence of health, economic, and social inequities [ 4 - 7 ].…”

“…Almost 40% of the world’s population in need of humanitarian assistance lives in the EMR and is at high risk of coronavirus transmission and associated severe consequences due to overpopulation, suboptimal sanitation, a high caseload of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), and limited resources and health system capacity [ 5 ]. Furthermore, a number of EMR countries have limited testing facilities, weak health system infrastructure and response, and inadequate vital registration and documentation, all of which have been associated with the possibility of underreporting or undertesting or both of COVID-19 cases [ 4 , 5 , 10 ]. The introduction of vaccination programs in the EMR continues to be hampered by logistical, economic, security, and population hesitancy issues, as well as reaching people living in hard-to-reach areas [ 11 ].…”

Published Research on COVID-19 in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: Bibliometric Analysis (Preprint)

“…Disparities in global access to vaccines, increasing vaccine hesitancy, impractical long-term implementation of preventive public health measures, and the continuous emergence of new variants are some of these challenges [1][2][3]. The Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) remains at high risk of COVID-19 case surges with the associated short-and long-term consequences primarily due to the combination of the aforementioned causes, added to which are the specific regional environment with protracted conflicts; high denial attitude toward the pandemic; chronically stressed health systems; and the presence of health, economic, and social inequities [4][5][6][7].…”