Which factors are predicting the mortality in patients with COVID-19 in the intensive care unit?

Abstract

Aims: COVID-19 infection is a global health problem; clinical and laboratory parameters have been developed to predict this disease-related mortality/morbidity. Some of these parameters are clinical parameters, while some are laboratory parameters. This study aims to determine whether Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II, Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), age, presence of comorbidity, and absolute lymphocyte count effectively predict mortality in patients admitted to intensive care unit (ICU) due to COVID-19. Methods: We have included 108 PCR-positive COVID-19 patients admitted to the ICU between 1 October and 31 November 2020 in our research. Demographic characteristics of all patients, APACHE II values within the first 24 hours of admission to ICU, the GCS, the presence of comorbidity, lymphocyte count during ICU admission, duration of ICU stay, and the mortality rates were recorded. Results: The average age of 108 individuals evaluated in the study was 67±13.61 years, and 56.5% of the patient group consisted of the geriatric age range. Seventy (64.8%) of the patients were female, eighty-nine (82.4%) patients had at least one comorbidity. In the multivariate analysis, it was determined that lymphocyte value, APACHE II score, and the presence of any comorbidity are independent prognostic factors for mortality when accepted to ICU. Conclusion: In our study, we have determined that age, APACHE II value, presence of comorbidity, and baseline lymphocyte counts are independent predictors of mortality.