Risk factors of developing critical conditions in Iranian patients with COVID-19

Area of Science:

• Infectious Diseases
• Epidemiology
• Public Health

Background:

• Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) emerged in Wuhan, China, leading to a global pandemic.
• The Islamic Republic of Iran faces a high prevalence and disease burden of COVID-19.
• Limited medical resources necessitate identifying factors predicting critical illness to optimize patient management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify risk factors associated with critical illness and death in COVID-19 patients.
• To inform resource allocation and improve treatment strategies in high-burden regions.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective study including 12,677 patients with COVID-19 symptoms from 26 hospitals.
• Data collected via university integrated IT system.
• Logistic regression analysis used to determine associations between variables and mortality.

Main Results:

• Cough, respiratory distress, and fever were the most frequent symptoms.
• Cancer, chronic lung diseases, and chronic neurologic diseases emerged as the strongest predictors of mortality.
• Analysis identified key demographic and clinical variables associated with adverse outcomes.

Conclusions:

• Pre-existing conditions like cancer and chronic respiratory or neurologic diseases are significant risk factors for COVID-19 mortality.
• These findings aid in risk stratification and targeted interventions for vulnerable COVID-19 patient populations.