Epidemiology, clinical course, and outcomes of critically ill adults with COVID-19 in New York City: a prospective cohort study
Study (n=257) found older age & cardiopulmonary comorbidities linked to increased mortality as in Italy & China. Novel findings include links between biomarkers for inflammation/thrombosis and mortality, as well as high incidence of critical illness among racial/ethnic minorities
Source:
The Lancet
SPS commentary:
According to a commentary, this study confirms that COVID-19 is characterised by a high incidence of multiple organ dysfunction. In terms of pharmacological treatments, antibacterial agents were administered empirically to nearly all critically ill patients (229 [89%]) and hydroxychloroquine was administered to 185 (72%), while corticosteroids and interleukin-6 (IL-6) receptor antagonists were administered to fewer patients (68 [26%] and 44 [17%], respectively). No data are available on the temporal changes of inflammatory markers in patients receiving immunomodulating treatments and no information is provided about strategies of anticoagulant therapies, which are of interest given the high incidence of thromboembolic complications associated with COVID-19. It add that the study conveys important messages; in particular, it shows that the disease is characterised by a high mortality (101 [39%] after a minimum follow-up of 28 days) and prolonged clinical course, as shown by the high percentage of patients still in the hospital (94 [37%]) at the end of follow-up.