COVID-19 Outcomes Detailed Among Critically Ill U.S. Patients

By Amy Orciari Herman

Edited by Susan Sadoughi, MD, and André Sofair, MD, MPH

The mortality rate among critically ill patients with novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at Evergreen Hospital in Washington state reached 67%, according to a research letter in JAMA.

Researchers studied 21 patients (age 43–92) with confirmed COVID-19 admitted to the ICU. Roughly 85% had underlying health conditions, like chronic kidney disease and congestive heart failure. All but one patient had abnormal findings on chest radiographs at admission.

Overall, 71% required mechanical ventilation for acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), and half of these progressed to severe ARDS by day 3. As of mid-March, two-thirds of the patients had died, and 24% were still in the ICU.

Of note, one-third of the patients developed cardiomyopathy. The researchers write, "It is unclear whether [this] reflects a direct cardiac complication of SARS-CoV-2 infection or resulted from overwhelming critical illness. Others have described cardiomyopathy in COVID-19, and further research may better characterize this risk."