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Observational Study
. 2021 Jun;16(4):1051-1060.
doi: 10.1007/s11739-020-02548-0. Epub 2020 Nov 11.

Clinical characteristics and respiratory support of 310 COVID-19 patients, diagnosed at the emergency room: a single-center retrospective study

Sandro Luigi Di Domenico  1 , Daniele Coen  2 , Marta Bergamaschi  3 , Valentina Albertini  3 , Leonardo Ghezzi  2 , Michela Maria Cazzaniga  2 , Valeria Tombini  2 , Riccardo Colombo  2 , Nicolò Capsoni  3 , Tommaso Coen  4 , Katia Barbara Cazzola  2 , Marina Di Fiore  2 , Laura Angaroni  2 , Marco Alberto Strozzi  2
Affiliations
Observational Study

Clinical characteristics and respiratory support of 310 COVID-19 patients, diagnosed at the emergency room: a single-center retrospective study

Sandro Luigi Di Domenico et al. Intern Emerg Med. 2021 Jun.

Abstract

An ongoing outbreak of pneumonia associated with severe acute respiratory coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) occurred at the end of February 2020 in Lombardy, Italy. We analyzed data from a retrospective, single-center case series of 310 consecutive patients, with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection, admitted to the emergency room. We aimed to describe the clinical course, treatment and outcome of a cohort of patients with COVID-19 pneumonia, with special attention to oxygen delivery and ventilator support. Throughout the study period, 310 consecutive patients, with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection, attended the Emergency Room (ER), of these, 34 were discharged home directly from the ER. Of the remaining 276 patients, the overall mortality was 30.4%: 7 patients died in the ER and 77 during hospitalization. With respect to oxygen delivery: 22 patients did not need any oxygen support (8.0%), 151 patients were treated with oxygen only (54.7%), and 49 (17.8%) were intubated. 90 patients (32.6%) were treated with CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) or NIV (Non Invasive Ventilation); in this group, 27 patients had a Do Not Intubate (DNI) order and were treated with CPAP/NIV as an upper threshold therapy, showing high mortality rate (88.9%). Among the 63 patients treated with CPAP/NIV without DNI, NIV failure occurred in 36 patients (57.1%), with mortality rate of 47.2%. Twenty-seven (27) patients were treated with CPAP/NIV without needing mechanical ventilation and 26 were discharged alive (96.3%). The study documents the poor prognosis of patients with severe respiratory failure, although a considerable minority of patients treated with CPAP/NIV had a positive outcome.

Keywords: COVID-19; CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure); Epidemiology; NIV (non-invasive ventilation); SARS-CoV-2 infection.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flowchart of patients recruitment and outcome
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Estimated coefficients and 95% confidence intervals for univariate and multivariate Cox regressions of patient survival on potential risk factors. CKD chronic kidney disease
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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