Clinical features of 162 fatal cases of COVID-19:a multi-center retrospective study

Background:The coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)has affected approximately 2 million individuals worldwide;however,data regarding fatal cases have been limited.Objective:To report the clinical features of 162 fatal cases of COVID-19 from 5 hospitals in Wuhan between December 30,2019 and March 12,2020.Methods:The demographic data,signs and symptoms,clinical course,comorbidities,laboratory findings,computed tomographic(CT)scans,treatments,and complications of the patients with fatal cases were retrieved from electronic medical records.Results:The median patient age was 69.5(interquartile range:63.0–77.25)years,and 80%of the patients were over 61 years.A total of 112(69.1%)patients were men.Hypertension(45.1%)was the most common comorbidity,while 59(36.4%)patients had no comorbidity.At admission,131(81.9%)patients had severe or critical COVID-19,whereas 39(18.1%)patients with hypertension or chronic lung disease had moderate COVID-19.In total,126(77.8%)patients received antiviral treatment,while 132(81.5%)patients received glucocorticoid treatment.A total of 116(71.6%)patients were admitted to the intensive care unit(ICU),and 137(85.1%)patients received mechanical ventilation.Most patients received mechanical ventilation before ICU admission.Approximately 93.2%of the patients developed respiratory failure or acute respiratory distress syndrome.There were no significant differences in the inhospital survival time among the hospitals(P=0.14).Conclusion:Young patients with moderate COVID-19 without comorbidity at admission could also develop fatal outcomes.The in-hospital survival time of the fatal cases was similar among the hospitals of different levels in Wuhan.