Clinicoepidemiological features and mortality analysis of deceased patients with COVID-19 in a tertiary care centre

Background and objective: A large number of studies describing the clinicoepidemological features of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients are available but very few studies have documented similar features of the deceased. This study was aimed to describe the clinicoepidemological features and the causes of mortality of COVID-19 deceased patients admitted in a dedicated COVID center in India. Methodology: This was a retrospective study done in adult deceased patients admitted in COVID ICU from April 4 to July 24, 2020. The clinical features, comorbidities, complications, and causes of mortality in these patients were analyzed. Pediatric deceased were analyzed separately. Results: A total of 654 adult patients were admitted in the ICU during the study period and ICU mortality was 37.7% (247/654). Among the adult deceased, 65.9% were males with a median age of 56 years [interquartile range (IQR), 41.5–65] and 94.74% had one or more comorbidities, most common being hypertension (43.3%), diabetes mellitus (34.8%), and chronic kidney disease (20.6%). The most common presenting features in these deceased were fever (75.7%), cough (68.8%), and shortness of breath (67.6%). The mean initial sequential organ failure assessment score was 9.3 ± 4.7 and 24.2% were already intubated at the time of admission. The median duration of hospital stay was 6 days (IQR, 3–11). The most common cause of death was sepsis with multiorgan failure (55.1%) followed by severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) (25.5%). All pediatric deceased had comorbid conditions and the most common cause of death in this group was severe ARDS. Conclusion: In this cohort of adult deceased, most were young males with age less than 65 years with one or more comorbidities, hypertension being the most common. Only 5% of the deceased had no comorbidities. Sepsis with multiorgan dysfunction syndrome was the commonest cause of death.