Bicarbonate concentration as a predictor of prognosis in moderately severe COVID-19 patients: A multicenter retrospective study.

Abstract

BackgroundCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients reportedly have high bicarbonate concentration. However, its relationship to the disease progression are obscure.MethodsIn this two-center retrospective study, we included COVID-19 patients with moderate severity between March 2020 and May 2021. We classified patients into three groups according to bicarbonate concentrations: high (>27 mEq/L), normal (21 to 27 mEq/L), and low (ResultsOf the 60 participants (median age 72 years), 60% were men. Participants were classified into high (13 patients), normal (30 patients), and low (17 patients) groups. Clinical worsening occurred in 54% of patients in the high group, 23% in the normal group, and 65% in the low group. Both high and low groups were associated with a higher clinical worsening rate: HR, 3.02 (95% CI, 1.05 to 8.63) in the high group; 3.49 (95% CI: 1.33 to 9.12) in the low group.ConclusionMonitoring of bicarbonate concentrations may be useful to predict the prognosis.