Mortality Rate and Predictors among Patients with COVID-19 Related Acute Respiratory Failure Requiring Mechanical Ventilation: A Retrospective Single Centre Study

Christophe de Terwangne¹, Antonio Sorgente², Redente Tortora³, Diana Cheung³, Frederic Duprez³, Sammy Place¹, Jerome R. Lechien⁴, Lucio Capulzini², Michael De Cubber², Sven Saussez⁴, Fabio Silvio Taccone⁵, Shahram Mashayekhi³

1 Department of Internal Medicine, Centre Hospitalier EpiCURA Hornu, Hornu, Belgium
2 Department of Cardiology, Centre Hospitalier EpiCURA, Hornu, Belgium
3 Department of Intensive Care, Centre Hospitalier EpiCURA, Hornu, Belgium
4 Department of Human Anatomy and Experimental Oncology, University of Mons, Mons, Belgium
5 Department of Intensive Care, Hopital Erasme, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium

DOI: 10.2478/jccm-2020-0043

Aim: The objective of the study was to assess mortality rates in COVID-19 patients suffering from acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) who also requiring mechanical ventilation. The predictors of mortality in this cohort were analysed, and the clinical characteristics recorded.
Material and method: A single centre retrospective study was conducted on all COVID-19 patients admitted to the intensive care unit of the Epicura Hospital Center, Province of Hainaut, Belgium, between March 1st and April 30th 2020.
Results: Forty-nine patients were included in the study of which thirty-four were male, and fifteen were female. The mean (SD) age was 68.8 (10.6) and 69.5 (12.6) for males and females, respectively. The median time to death after the onset of symptoms was eighteen days. The median time to death, after hospital admission was nine days. By the end of the thirty days follow-up, twenty-seven patients (55%) had died, and twenty–two (45%) had survived. Non-survivors, as compared to those who survived, were similar in gender, prescribed medications, COVID-19 symptoms, with similar laboratory test results. They were significantly older (p = 0.007), with a higher co-morbidity burden (p = 0.026) and underwent significantly less tracheostomy (p < 0.001). In multivariable logistic regression analysis, no parameter significantly predicted mortality.
Conclusions: This study reported a mortality rate of 55% in critically ill COVID-19 patients with ARDS who also required mechanical ventilation. The results corroborate previous findings that older and more comorbid patients represent the population at most risk of a poor outcome in this setting.