PLoS ONE (Jan 2020)

Gender differences in predictors of intensive care units admission among COVID-19 patients: The results of the SARS-RAS study of the Italian Society of Hypertension.

  • Guido Iaccarino,
  • Guido Grassi,
  • Claudio Borghi,
  • Stefano Carugo,
  • Francesco Fallo,
  • Claudio Ferri,
  • Cristina Giannattasio,
  • Davide Grassi,
  • Claudio Letizia,
  • Costantino Mancusi,
  • Pietro Minuz,
  • Stefano Perlini,
  • Giacomo Pucci,
  • Damiano Rizzoni,
  • Massimo Salvetti,
  • Riccardo Sarzani,
  • Leonardo Sechi,
  • Franco Veglio,
  • Massimo Volpe,
  • Maria Lorenza Muiesan,
  • SARS-RAS Investigators

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0237297
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 15, no. 10
p. e0237297

Abstract

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BackgroundThe global rate of intensive care unit (ICU) admission during the COVID-19 pandemic varies within countries and is among the main challenges for health care systems worldwide. Conflicting results have been reported about the response to coronavirus infection and COVID-19 outcomes in men and women. Understanding predictors of intensive care unit admission might be of help for future planning and management of the disease.Methods and findingsWe designed a cross-sectional observational multicenter nationwide survey in Italy to understand gender-related clinical predictors of ICU admission in patients with COVID-19. We analyzed information from 2378 charts of Italian patients certified for COVID-19 admitted in 26 hospitals. Three hundred ninety-five patients (16.6%) required ICU admission due to COVID19 infection, more frequently men (74%), with a higher prevalence of comorbidities (1,78±0,06 vs 1,54±0,03 pConclusionsOur study demonstrates that gender is the primary determinant of the disease's severity among COVID-19. Obesity is the condition more often observed among those admitted to ICU within both genders.Trial registrationClinicaltrials.gov: NCT04331574.