Changes in clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 during two years of the pandemic: experience in a venezuelan hospital

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17843/rpmesp.2022.393.11195

Keywords:

COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, SARS-CoV-2 variants, Intensive Care Units, Mortality, In-Hospital

Abstract

Objectives. To determine changes in the clinical characteristics and in-hospital outcomes of patients hospitalized for COVID-19 in a private hospital in Caracas during two years of the pandemic. Materials and Methods. Retrospective, observational study of patients hospitalized for COVID-19. We evaluated the correspondence between waves of hospital admissions and circulating variants of SARS-CoV-2 in the general population of the Capital District and Miranda state. Results. A total of 1025 patients (569 men and 456 women) were included, with a mean age of 62.9 SD: 16.2 years. Four waves of hospital admissions were identified: first (March-November 2020) 150/1025 (14.6%) cases; second (December 2020 to May 2021) 415/1025 (40.5%) cases; third (June-December 2021) 344/1025 (33.6%) cases; fourth (January-February 2022) 116/1025 (11.3%) cases. The mean age was higher in the fourth wave (first: 64.0±15.7, second: 61.4±15.8, third: 62.1±16.5, and fourth wave: 68.5±16.4), while the proportion of male patients (first: 66.7%, second: 58.8%, third: 50.3%, and fourth wave: 44.8%), patients with severe-critical illness (first: 65.3%, second: 57%, third: 51.7%, and fourth wave: 44.8%), in-hospital stay (first: 9.1±6.0, second: 9.0±7.3, third: 8.8±7.7, and fourth wave: 6.9±5.0 days), ICU admissions (first: 23.3%, second: 15.7%, third: 14.0%, and fourth wave: 11.2%; p=0.027) and mortality (first: 21. 8%, second: 10.7%, third: 9.1%, and fourth wave: 7.1%; p<0.001) progressively decreased over time. Conclusions. The results show lower frequency of severe cases and improvement of in-hospital outcomes in two years of the pandemic. Changes in circulating variants, improvements in disease management and vaccination are likely to have influenced these results.

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References

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Published

2022-09-30

Issue

Section

Original Article

How to Cite

1.
Arvelo MC, Montes de oca M, Sánchez-Traslaviña L, Pujol FH, Jaspe RC, Silva IC, et al. Changes in clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 during two years of the pandemic: experience in a venezuelan hospital. Rev Peru Med Exp Salud Publica [Internet]. 2022 Sep. 30 [cited 2024 Oct. 15];39(3):292-301. Available from: https://rpmesp.ins.gob.pe/index.php/rpmesp/article/view/11195