Critically Ill vs. Non-Critically Ill Patients With COVID-19 Pneumonia: Clinical Features, Laboratory Findings, and Prediction

Link to article at PubMed

Front Cell Infect Microbiol. 2021 Jul 13;11:550456. doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2021.550456. eCollection 2021.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to investigate the clinical features and laboratory findings of patients with and without critical COVID-19 pneumonia and identify predictors for the critical form of the disease.

METHODS: Demographic, clinical, and laboratory data of 63 COVID-19 pneumonia patients were retrospectively reviewed. Laboratory parameters were also collected within 3-5 days, 7-9 days, and 11-14 days of hospitalization. Outcomes were followed up until March 12, 2020.

RESULTS: Twenty-two patients developed critically ill pneumonia; one of them died. Upon admission, older patients with critical illness were more likely to report cough and dyspnoea with higher respiration rates and had a greater possibility of abnormal laboratory parameters than patients without critical illness. When compared with the non-critically ill patients, patients with serious illness had a lower discharge rate and longer hospital stays, with a trend towards higher mortality. The interleukin-6 level in patients upon hospital admission was important in predicting disease severity and was associated with the length of hospitalization.

CONCLUSIONS: Many differences in clinical features and laboratory findings were observed between patients exhibiting non-critically ill and critically ill COVID-19 pneumonia. Non-critically ill COVID-19 pneumonia also needs aggressive treatments. Interleukin-6 was a superior predictor of disease severity.

PMID:34327146 | PMC:PMC8313893 | DOI:10.3389/fcimb.2021.550456

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