Risk factors of death in mechanically ventilated COVID-19 patients: a retrospective multi- center study

Abstract

Introduction: Despite the improvement in COVID-19 therapeutic management the mortality of mechanically ventilated COVID-19 patients remains high. In this study, we determined risk factors of mortality in these cases. Methods: This retrospective study examined clinical and paraclinical data of COVID-19 patients mechanically ventilated at the time of hospitalization to ICU admission until death or discharge from hospital between April and September in 2021 in three COVID-19 referral hospitals. Results: One hundred twenty-five patients (60% male, mean age 62 ± 15.18, range 17 to 97 years old) were recruited to this study. 51(40%) survived and 74 (60%) didn’t survive. At the time of hospital admission, the vital signs were not significantly different between the survivors and non-survivors groups, also diarrhea was not reported in non-survivors, but reported in 9.5% of survivors (P = 0.02). The mean age of 74 non-survivors was higher than 51 survivors (65.1 ± 14.17 vs 56.9 ± 15.41, P = 0.003). The intubation time since the patients were admitted to hospitals was not significantly different between the two groups (3.38 ± 2.88 days vs 4.16 ± 3.42 days, P = 0.34). The mean LDH and D-dimer at the time of ICU admission were significantly higher in the non-survivors group (863 ± 449 vs 613 ± 326, P = 0.01; 4081 ± 3342 vs 542 ± 634, P = 0.009; respectively). However, the mean CRP was not significantly different between the two groups (76 ± 66.4, 54 ± 84.3; P = 0.1). Mean APACHE-II score was higher in the non-survivors than the survivors (15 vs 13; P = 0.01). Use of remdesivir, interfrone beta-1a, and low dose corticosteroids were significantly higher in the survivors group (P = 0.009, P = 0.001, P = 0.000). Conclusion: Success of weaning and hospital discharge among mechanically ventilated COVID-19 patients are probably higher in younger patients with lower D-dimmer and LDH levels that received low dose corticosteroids during treatment.