Clinical features and outcomes of hospitalized COVID-19 patients in a low burden region

Data on the clinical features and outcomes of COVID-19 patients from countries with low disease burden are rare. Greece, however, presented a low burden of COVID-19 disease during the first pandemic outbreak. This is a retrospective study of COVID-19 hospitalized patients in Greece. Clinical data were extracted from medical records using univariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses to assess the factors associated with Intensive Care Unit (ICU) admission and in-hospital death. Eighty-five patients were included in this study, 49 (57.7%) male with median (25^th-75^th) age 60 (49-72) years old. Sixty-one (72%) of them had at least one comorbidity with hypertension being the most common (45,6%). More than half (56%) had severe or critical disease, 20% required ICU care (14% received invasive ventilation) and 10.7% died. Solid tumor (p = 0.021) and NEWS score (p = 0.048), thrombocytopenia (p = 0.036) or involvement of all lung fields in chest x-ray (p = 0.002) on admission were independent risk factors for ICU admission. Immunosuppression (p = 0.032) and thrombocytopenia (p = 0.049) were independent predictors of death. Hospitalized COVID-19 patients in a European country with a low burden of the disease, in which hospital capacities had not been overwhelmed, had lower mortality rate compared to those reported for patients hospitalized in regions with a high burden of the disease.