Clinical features, demography and predictors of outcomes of SARS-CoV-2 infection in a tertiary care hospital in India - a cohort study

Background The 'second wave' of the COVID-19 pandemic hit India from early April 2021 to June 2021 and more than 400,000 cases per day were reported in the country. We describe the clinical features, demography, treatment trends, baseline laboratory parameters of a cohort of patients admitted at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi with SARS-CoV-2 infection and their association with the outcome. Methods This was a retrospective cohort study describing the clinical, laboratory and treatment patterns of consecutive patients admitted with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Multivariate logistic regression models were fitted to identify the clinical and biochemical predictors of developing hypoxia, deterioration during the hospital stay and death. Findings A total of 2080 patients were included in the study. The case fatality rate was 19.5%. Amongst the survivors, the median duration of hospital stay was 8 (5-11) days. Out of 853 (42.3%%) of patients who had COVID-19 Acute respiratory distress syndrome at presentation, 340 (39.9%) died. Patients aged 45-60 years [OR (95% CI): 1.8 (1.2-2.6)p =0.003] and those aged >60 years [OR (95%CI): 3.4 (2.3-5.2), p<0.001] had a higher odds of death as compared to the 18-44 age group. Vaccination reduced the odds of death by 30% [OR (95% CI): 0.7 (0.5-0.9), p=0.036]. Patients with hyper inflammation at baseline as suggested by leucocytosis [OR (95% CI): 2.1 (1.4-3.10), p <0.001], raised d-dimer >500 mg/dL [OR (95% CI): 3.2 (2.2-4.6), p <0.001] and raised C-reactive peptide >0.5 mg/L [OR (95% CI): 3.8 (1.1-13), p=0.037] had higher odds of death. Patients who were admitted in the second week had lower odds of death and those admitted in the third week had higher odds of death. Interpretation This is the largest cohort of patients admitted with COVID-19 from India reported to date and has shown that vaccination status and early admission during the inflammatory phase can change the course of illness of these patients. Strategies should be made to improve vaccination rates and early admission of patients with moderate and severe COVID-19 to improve outcomes.