Clinical Characteristics and Risk Factors among Patients with Positive COVID-19 Test Admitted to ICU

Studies that show common characteristics among ICU-admitted patients due to COVID-19 are available on the net, but such studies in Saudi Arabia are limited.

A descriptive cross-sectional study establishing common comorbidities and risk factors among critically ill patients who tested positive for COVID-19 at the National Guard Hospital from March 2, 2020, to March 20, 2021. The data were obtained from the BEST Care System of King Abdulaziz Medical City, computed, and analyzed using SPSS.

Three hundred eighty-five COVID-19 patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) were included in this study. The mean age was 60.85 ± 20.46, 60.85% were males, and 39.2% were females. There was statistically significant positive relationship between severity of the symptoms and age (P = 0.002). The mean duration of hospital stay in the sample was 21.85 ± 28.47. More than one-third (37.4%) of cases admitted to the hospital died while about two-thirds of the cases were discharged after complete recovery. Two hundred ninety (75.3%) of the patients who were admitted to the National Guard Health Affairs (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia) had respiratory disease. Two hundred twelve patients (55.1%) had diabetes mellitus, while the number of hypertensive patients was 203 (52.7%). There was a significant positive relation among patients with gastrointestinal tract infection (GIT) risk factors and the severity of the symptoms of COVID-19 (P = 0.000). In addition, there was a strong significant relation between hypertension patients and the severity of the COVID-19 symptoms (P = 0.017).

COVID-19 patients who have GIT and hypertension have been found to be at an increased risk of COVID-19 symptom severity. Old age was also found to have an increased risk for COVID-19 symptom severity.