Critical Outcomes in COVID-19 Hospitalizations Decreased Over Time

FRIDAY, Sept. 22, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- From 2021 to 2023, there was a decrease in the proportion of adults hospitalized with COVID-19 who experienced critical outcomes, according to a study published online Aug. 26 in Clinical Infectious Diseases.

Eric P. Griggs, M.P.H., from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, and colleagues describe changes in the clinical epidemiology of COVID-19 hospitalizations and risk factors for critical outcomes among adults from 10 states hospitalized with COVID-19 from June 2021 to March 2023.

The analysis included 60,488 COVID-19-associated hospitalizations. The researchers found that from the delta (June to December 2021) to post-BA.4/BA.5 (September 2022 to March 2023) periods, the median age among those hospitalized increased from 60 to 75 years, while the proportion vaccinated increased from 18.2 to 70.1 percent and critical outcomes decreased from 24.8 to 19.4 percent. Compared with all hospitalizations, hospitalization events with critical outcomes had a higher proportion of at least four medical condition categories assessed (32.8 versus 23.0 percent). For unvaccinated and vaccinated populations, critical outcome risk factors were similar; the presence of at least four medical condition categories was most strongly linked to the risk for critical outcome, irrespective of vaccination status (adjusted risk ratios, 2.27 and 1.73 for unvaccinated and vaccinated, respectively) across periods.

"Our findings provide insight into factors that influence outcomes for hospitalized patients and can help us be alerted to those potential risks, so we can pay special attention to the most at-risk individuals," coauthor Shaun J. Grannis, M.D., from the Regenstrief Institute in Indianapolis, said in a statement.

Several authors disclosed ties to the pharmaceutical and publishing industries.

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