Mortality decreased from 43.5 to 19.2 percent between first and last 15-day periods; no change seen in other patient factors <\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
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THURSDAY, Jan. 21, 2021 (HealthDay News) — For adults with COVID-19-related critical illness admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU), mortality has decreased over time, according to a study published online Jan. 19 in the Annals of Internal Medicine<\/em>.<\/p>\n George L. Anesi, M.D., from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, and colleagues describe the epidemiology of COVID-19-related critical illness, including trends in outcomes and care delivery, in a multihospital retrospective cohort study. Data were included for 468 patients with COVID-19-related critical illness who were admitted to an ICU during the initial surge of the pandemic, from March 1 to May 11, 2020; 68.2 and 25.9 percent were treated with mechanical ventilation and vasopressors, respectively.<\/p>\n The researchers found that the all-cause, 28-day in-hospital mortality rate was 29.9 percent, median ICU stay was eight days, median hospital stay was 13 days, and the all-cause 30-day readmission rate was 10.8 percent. Over time, there was a decrease seen in mortality, from 43.5 to 19.2 percent between the first and last 15-day periods; no change was seen in patient acuity and other factors.<\/p>\n “Centers should anticipate a growing population of survivors of COVID-19-related critical illness as the pandemic continues,” the authors write. “Further studies are necessary to confirm this result and to investigate causal mechanisms.”<\/p>\n Several authors disclosed financial ties to the pharmaceutical and medical device industries.<\/p>\n