With inputs from Dr Monica Vasudev

 991:  COVID-19 Death Rates in ICUs Down to 41.6%

The overall mortality among patients with COVID-19 in intensive care units (ICUs) across three continents, including Europe, Asia, and North America, has come down from around 60% at the end of March to about 42% at the end of May, noted a systematic review and meta-analysis.

RA Armstrong, a fellow at Severn Deanery in Bristol, United Kingdom, and colleagues published the data online July 15 in Anaesthesia. This is the first systematic review and meta-analysis that assessed the outcomes of patients with COVID-19 in ICUs.

MEDLINE, EMBASE, PubMed, and Cochrane databases were searched for studies through May that reported on ICU mortality for adult patients with COVID-19. Death in an ICU as a proportion of completed ICU admissions was the primary outcome measure of the meta-analysis. Twenty four observational studies were identified that included 10,150 patients. Combined ICU mortality across all the studies was found to be nearly 41.6%, decreasing by about one third from the figure of 59.5% seen in the studies to the end of March. However, the lower mortality rate is still nearly double the rate of 22% mortality noted in ICU admissions for other viral pneumonias. Mortality was not found to be significantly different across the three continents.

Dr KK Aggarwal

President CMAAO, HCFI and Past National President IMA