Treatment outcomes and associated epidemiological characteristics among patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in critical care and isolation wards at a tertiary hospital in Kiambu County, Kenya

Abstract

Background: COVID-19 was a novel infection whose outcomes were not well established to be associated with any factors during the  start of the pandemic that it caused globally.

Objective: To establish epidemiological characteristics associated with mortality among patients hospitalized with covid-19 at a tertiary  hospital in Kiambu County Kenya

Methods: This was a retrospective Analytical cross-sectional study done at Avenue Hospital Isolation and Intensive care wards.  Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) positively identified Covid-19 adult patients who were admitted were recruited into the study. The  mortality rate from COVID-19 infection and epidemiological characteristics associated with the mortalities among the COVID-19  hospitalized patients were the measures of outcomes being investigated.

Results: A total of 154 patients were recruited in the study.  Almost two thirds of the patients had comorbidities (n=96; 62.3%). Out of 154 patients, 23.4% (n=36) died and 76.6% n= (118) were  discharged alive. Kaplan Meier statistics revealed, the median survival time was 22 days (95% CI: 16.626 - 27.374) among patents who  died. The epidemiological factor predicting death of a patient after adjusting for odds was increase in age (AOR: 1.138; 95% CI: 1.009 -  1.285; p-value- 0.036).

Conclusion and Recommendations: Majority of the patients admitted with COVID-19 were discharged alive  compared to those with mortalities. The mortalities which occurred were associated with an increase in age among the patients. The  study recommends healthcare professionals to prioritize older demographic patients diagnosed with COVID-19 during triage and routine  care.