Mortality and Mechanical Ventilation among Critically Ill Patients of COVID-19 Infection: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: Large number of patients are in need of critical care as the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has swept all over the world, posing great pressure on critical care resources. Particularly, among those receiving mechanical ventilation, mortality of critically ill patients with COVID-19 is high. High demand of hospitalization and an increased number of intensive care units (ICUs) admission has been required in COVID-19 pandemic [1]. Therefore, to evaluate critical COVID-19 patients, it has become mandatory to develop prognostic models.

Objectives: To describe mortality and mechanical ventilation among critically ill patients of COVID-19 infection.

Materials and Methods: This is a cross-sectional study done for a sample of 100 patients to evaluate COVID-19 infection requiring mechanical ventilation among critically ill patients. The study included all the people who were infected with COVID-19 infection irrespective of them being cured, improved or admitted in intensive care units. The study population almost involved all the patients who came in emergency being suspected for COVID-19 infection using RT-PCR tests.

Results: Among 100 patients included in the study, the mean age group seen to be 54.53 years (34 females, 66 males). Among males and females, mean age group of females affected with COVID include 53.08 and among males, 55.27. There were comorbidities present in some of the individuals infected with COVID-19, which presented as a risk factor for acquiring infection among them. The risk was high with diabetes mellitus (36%) followed by hypertension (31%) and heart diseases (1%). 28 patients died after ICU admission with infection and mean time of death of the patients from the time of Intensive Care Unit admission to death of the patient is 3.5 days. Some personal modalities also aided in easy acquiring of infection which included obesity, age, respiratory infections such as asthma, COPD, etc using qSOFA ( quick Sequential Organ Failure Assessment) score for assessing sepsis associated with infection.

Conclusions: COVID-19 infection is easily acquired through droplets of infected person or contact with those infected with COVID and not all the patients do require mechanical ventilation and intensive care unit admission. The need of ICU admissions increase in those people who have comorbidities and respiratory problems; mechanical ventilation in those patients is required in those who have oxygen saturation (SpO2 < 90% on room air). With additional medications and appropriate timely management, the patient gets recovered but in some who are unable to tolerate with the ongoing treatment and where the complications get started, they are failing to thrive and hence mortality occurs.