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Sudden death of COVID-19 patients in Wuhan, China: A retrospective cohort study

Nan Yang1, Kunming Tian2, Meng Jin3

  • 1Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Key Laboratory for Environment and Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Sciences and Technology, Wuhan, China.

Journal of Global Health
|April 8, 2021
PubMed

Insights

Sudden death in COVID-19 patients, often linked to severe inflammation and organ dysfunction, particularly affecting the liver and heart, warrants further investigation. Understanding these risk factors is crucial for patient outcomes.

Area of Science:

  • Medicine
  • Infectious Diseases
  • Critical Care

Background:

  • The emergence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in late 2019 led to a significant global health crisis.
  • COVID-19 caused approximately 4000 deaths in China alone during the initial outbreak.
  • Characterizing clinical features and identifying risk factors for sudden death in COVID-19 patients is essential.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To systematically analyze the clinical characteristics of deceased COVID-19 patients.
  • To determine the risk factors associated with sudden death among COVID-19 fatalities.
  • To compare clinical features between sudden and non-sudden death groups in COVID-19.

Main Methods:

  • A retrospective study of 281 deceased COVID-19 patients admitted to Tongji hospital between January 22 and March 23, 2020.
  • Patients were categorized into sudden death (died within 24 hours of admission) and non-sudden death groups.
  • Logistic regression analysis was employed to identify risk factors for sudden death.

Main Results:

  • Sudden death occurred in 10% of the deceased patients (28 out of 281).
  • Sudden deaths showed higher fatigue incidence, lower eosinophil counts, and elevated levels of inflammatory markers (procalcitonin, CRP) and organ function indicators (ALT, AST, LDH, BNP).
  • No significant differences were observed in gender, age, chest CT findings, or comorbidities between the groups.

Conclusions:

  • Sudden death in COVID-19 patients is associated with more severe systemic inflammation and multi-organ dysfunction, particularly impacting liver and heart function.
  • These findings highlight distinct clinical profiles in sudden COVID-19 fatalities.
  • Further research is recommended to validate these observations and elucidate underlying mechanisms.
Abstract

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