PLoS ONE (Jan 2022)

Clinical characteristics associated with mortality of COVID-19 patients admitted to an intensive care unit of a tertiary hospital in South Africa.

  • Peter S Nyasulu,
  • Birhanu T Ayele,
  • Coenraad F Koegelenberg,
  • Elvis Irusen,
  • Usha Lalla,
  • Razeen Davids,
  • Yazied Chothia,
  • Francois Retief,
  • Marianne Johnson,
  • Stephen Venter,
  • Renilda Pillay,
  • Hans Prozesky,
  • Jantjie Taljaard,
  • Arifa Parker,
  • Eric H Decloedt,
  • Portia Jordan,
  • Sa'ad Lahri,
  • M Rafique Moosa,
  • Muhammad Saadiq Moolla,
  • Anteneh Yalew,
  • Nicola Baines,
  • Padi Maud,
  • Elizabeth Louw,
  • Andre Nortje,
  • Rory Dunbar,
  • Lovemore N Sigwadhi,
  • Veranyuy D Ngah,
  • Jacques L Tamuzi,
  • Annalise Zemlin,
  • Zivanai Chapanduka,
  • René English,
  • Brian W Allwood

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0279565
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 17, no. 12
p. e0279565

Abstract

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BackgroundOver 130 million people have been diagnosed with Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), and more than one million fatalities have been reported worldwide. South Africa is unique in having a quadruple disease burden of type 2 diabetes, hypertension, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and tuberculosis, making COVID-19-related mortality of particular interest in the country. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical characteristics and associated mortality of COVID-19 patients admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU) in a South African setting.Methods and findingsWe performed a prospective observational study of patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection admitted to the ICU of a South African tertiary hospital in Cape Town. The mortality and discharge rates were the primary outcomes. Demographic, clinical and laboratory data were analysed, and multivariable robust Poisson regression model was used to identify risk factors for mortality. Furthermore, Cox proportional hazards regression model was performed to assess the association between time to death and the predictor variables. Factors associated with death (time to death) at p-value ConclusionsIn this study, the mortality rate in COVID-19 patients admitted to the ICU was high. Older age, the need for invasive mechanical ventilation, HIV status, and metabolic acidosis were found to be significant predictors of mortality in patients admitted to the ICU.