Intensive Care Resources and 60-Day Survival of Critically-Ill COVID-19 Patients

Germany reported sufficient intensive care unit (ICU) resources throughout the first wave of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The treatment of critically ill COVID-19 patients without rationing may improve the outcome. We therefore analyzed ICU resources allocated to COVID-19 patients with respiratory failure and their outcomes.

Retrospectively, we enrolled severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-positive patients with respiratory failure from 03/08/2020 to 04/08/2020 and followed until 05/28/2020 in the university hospital of Freiburg, Germany.

In the defined interval, 34 COVID-19 patients were admitted to the ICU with median age of 67±13 (31-86) years. Six of 34 (17.6%) were female. All patients suffered from moderate or severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), 91.2% of the patients were intubated and 23.5% required extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). Proning was performed in 67.6%, renal replacement therapy (RRT) was required in 35.3%. Ninety-six percent required more than 20 nursing hours per day. Mean ICU stay was 21±19 (1-81) days. Sixty-day survival of critically ill COVID-19 patients was 50.0% (17/34). Causes of death were multi-organ failure (52.9%), refractory ARDS (17.6%) and intracerebral hemorrhage (17.6%).

Treatment of critically ill COVID-19 patients is protracted and resource-intense. In a context without resources shortage, 50% of COVID-19 with respiratory failure survived up to 60 days.