Survival status and predictors of mortality among COVID-19 patients admitted to intensive care units at COVID-19 centers in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: a retrospective study

Worldwide, including in Ethiopia, there is an increased risk of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) disease severity and mortality. This study aimed to assess the survival status and predictors of mortality among COVID-19 patients admitted to the intensive care unit.

Methods: This study included 508 COVID-19 patients retrospectively who were under follow-up. The work has been reported in line with the STROCSS (strengthening the reporting of cohort, cross-sectional and case-control studies in surgery) criteria. The data were collected through a systematic sampling from patients' charts. Kaplan-Meier survival curves and logrank test, and Cox's regression analyses were conducted to check the difference among categories of covariates and to identify predictors of mortality, respectively.

Results: All patient charts were reviewed and the information was recorded. The average age (mean+SD) of these patients was 62.1+13.6 years. Among study participants, 422 deaths occurred and the mortality rate was 64.1 per 1000 person-days. The median survival time was 13 days [interquartile range (IQR): 10-18]. The significant predictors for this survival were: Age>45 years [adjusted hazard ratio (AHR)=4.34, 95% CI: 2.46-7.86], Diabetes mellitus (AHR=1.37, 95% CI: 1.05-1.77), Hypertension (AHR=1.39, 95% CI: 1.09-1.79), Renal disease (AHR=1.86, 95% CI: 1.01-3.43), Hypotension (AHR=1.71, 95% CI: 1.28-2.27), Electrolyte treatment (AHR=0.78, 95% CI: 0.63-0.97).

Conclusion: The median survival of COVID-19 patients after their admission was 13 days, and predictors for this time were advanced age, preexisting comorbidities (like diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and renal disease), hypotension, and electrolyte therapy.