corona virus-Covid19

COVID-19 Patients Much Sicker and More Likely to Die than Flu Patients

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Tejasvi Hora, PhD Candidate Department of Geography and Environmental Management, University of Waterloo Data Analyst, GEMINI, Unity Health Toronto

Tejasvi Hora

Tejasvi Hora, PhD Candidate
Department of Geography and Environmental Management, University of Waterloo
Data Analyst, GEMINI, Unity Health Toronto

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: Death rates and resource use for COVID-19 hospitalization vary significantly worldwide, however, the characteristics and outcomes of COVID-19 hospitalizations in Canada have not been described in detail. Further, there is considerable uncertainty about how COVID-19 compares with influenza. In some circles, COVID-19 has been dismissed as being not more severe than “the flu”. ­We used data extracted from electronic health records of 7 hospitals in Ontario, Canada to describe characteristics and outcomes of hospitalization for COVID-19 and influenza. 

MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings?

Response: We compared 1027 hospital admission for COVID-19 with 783 admissions for influenza. After adjusting for patient factors like age, sex, and comorbidity, we found that patients with COVID-19 have a 3.5 times higher risk of death, 1.5 times longer hospital length-of-stay and 1.5 times greater ICU use than influenza hospitalizations. We also found that adults younger than 50 years old accounted for 1 in 5 COVID-19 hospitalizations and nearly 1 in 3 of these people required ICU care, highlighting that COVID-19 can cause serious illness even among younger adults. Finally, we found that simple risk models can predict in-hospital COVID-19 mortality with ~80% accuracy.

MedicalResearch.com: What should readers take away from your report?

Response: Hospitalization for COVID-19 are significantly more severe than influenza hospitalization in Canada. COVID-19 is definitely not “just like flu”.. Simple risk scores can inform clinical decision-making and resource allocation of COVID-19 hospitalizations.

MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this work?

Response: There is a need to develop region-specific COVID-19 risk predication models that can aid current management efforts. Furthermore, there is a need for a more detailed examination of how socio-economic factors influence COVID-19 spread and hospitalizations in urban centers.  

Any disclosures?  I have nothing to disclose.

Tejasvi Hora is a PhD candidate in Geography at the University of Waterloo researching the relationship between groundwater use and agriculture production in low-income regions. He is also currently working as a data analyst at GEMINI–a health data analytics lab at Unity Health Toronto–to improve patient care during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Citation:

Characteristics and outcomes of hospital admissions for COVID-19 and influenza in the Toronto area

Amol A. VermaTejasvi HoraHae Young JungMichael FralickSarah L. MaleckiLauren Lapointe-ShawAdina WeinermanTerence TangJanice L. KwanJessica J. LiuShail RawalTimothy C.Y. ChanAngela M. CheungLaura C. RosellaMarzyeh GhassemiMargaret HerridgeMuhammad Mamdani and Fahad Razak

[subscribe]
[last-modified] 

The information on MedicalResearch.com is provided for educational purposes only, and is in no way intended to diagnose, cure, or treat any medical or other condition. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health and ask your doctor any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. In addition to all other limitations and disclaimers in this agreement, service provider and its third party providers disclaim any liability or loss in connection with the content provided on this website.

 

Last Updated on February 11, 2021 by Marie Benz MD FAAD