Clinical Trends Among U.S. Adults Hospitalized With COVID-19, March to December 2020 : A Cross-Sectional Study

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused substantial morbidity and mortality.

To describe monthly clinical trends among adults hospitalized with COVID-19.

Pooled cross-sectional study.

99 counties in 14 states participating in the Coronavirus Disease 2019-Associated Hospitalization Surveillance Network (COVID-NET).

U.S. adults (aged ≥18 years) hospitalized with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 during 1 March to 31 December 2020.

Monthly hospitalizations, intensive care unit (ICU) admissions, and in-hospital death rates per 100 000 persons in the population; monthly trends in weighted percentages of interventions, including ICU admission, mechanical ventilation, and vasopressor use, among an age- and site-stratified random sample of hospitalized case patients.

Among 116 743 hospitalized adults with COVID-19, the median age was 62 years, 50.7% were male, and 40.8% were non-Hispanic White. Monthly rates of hospitalization (105.3 per 100 000 persons), ICU admission (20.2 per 100 000 persons), and death (11.7 per 100 000 persons) peaked during December 2020. Rates of all 3 outcomes were highest among adults aged 65 years or older, males, and Hispanic or non-Hispanic Black persons. Among 18 508 sampled hospitalized adults, use of remdesivir and systemic corticosteroids increased from 1.7% and 18.9%, respectively, in March to 53.8% and 74.2%, respectively, in December. Frequency of ICU admission, mechanical ventilation, and vasopressor use decreased from March (37.8%, 27.8%, and 22.7%, respectively) to December (20.5%, 12.3%, and 12.8%, respectively); use of noninvasive respiratory support increased from March to December.

COVID-NET covers approximately 10% of the U.S. population; findings may not be generalizable to the entire country.

Rates of COVID-19-associated hospitalization, ICU admission, and death were highest in December 2020, corresponding with the third peak of the U.S. pandemic. The frequency of intensive interventions for management of hospitalized patients decreased over time. These data provide a longitudinal assessment of clinical trends among adults hospitalized with COVID-19 before widespread implementation of COVID-19 vaccines.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.