Underlying Factors and Outcomes of COVID-19: A Retrospective Study

COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Older age, male gender, chronic respiratory diseases, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes mellitus, high blood pressure, chronic kidney and liver disease, Immunocompromised conditions, malignancies, excessive obesity, disabilities, and pregnancy are risk factors for severe illness or death in COVID-19 patients.

This study aimed to evaluate the results of medical care and factors affecting the recovery and death of patients hospitalized in three hospitals affiliated with the Islamic Azad University of Tehran/Iran.

This is a retrospective study, and the information is obtained from the files in the medical records unit of the hospitals. The study was conducted on 1255 covid-19 patients hospitalized in 3 hospitals affiliated with the Islamic Azad University of Tehran Medical Sciences. In the retrospective study, information was obtained from the files in the medical records unit of the hospitals using the researcher's checklist. The checklist included demographic findings and variables related to the severity of the disease, immune status, underlying systemic diseases, cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, and variables related to the consequences of the disease. The data was analyzed using SPSS. Qualitative variables were analyzed using frequency and percentage. The chi-square test was used to examine the relationship between variables, and logistic regression was employed to assess this relationship.

In this study, the following items were significantly more prevalent in those who recovered: Compliance with home quarantine, dry cough, positive CRP, and presence of ground glass opacity images in CT scan. Moreover, the following items were more evident in those who died: High blood pressure, cardiovascular diseases, headache, myalgia, arthralgia, weakness, fatigue, insomnia, hoarseness, purulent sputum, lobar pneumonia, low Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), seizures, anemia, high erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), increased prothrombin time (PT), decreased serum albumin, and the presence of crazy-paving on CT scan. In all of the above items, P-values were ≤ 0.05.

It is suggested that patients hospitalized with symptoms, signs, and conditions commonly seen in cases of dying patients should receive more frequent monitoring and care.