Clinical Characteristics of Hospitalized Patients With COVID-19 and Their Association With the Progression to Critical Illness and Death: A Single-Center Retrospective Study From Northwestern Mexico

Objective: The objective of this study was to associate the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of patients hospitalized for COVID-19 with the progression to critical illness and death in northwestern Mexico. Methods: From March to October 2020, we collected the demographic and clinical characteristics of 464 hospitalized patients from northwestern Mexico. Results: Sixty-four percent (295/464) of the patients became critically ill. Age, occupation, steroid and antibiotic use at previous hospitalization, and underlying diseases (hypertension, obesity, and chronic kidney disease) were associated with critical illness or death (p: < 0.05). No symptoms were associated with critical illness. However, the parameters such as the heart rate, respiratory rate, oxygen saturation, and diastolic pressure and the laboratory parameters such as the glucose, creatinine, white line cells, hemoglobin, D-dimer, and C-reactive protein, among others, were associated with critical illness (p: < 0.05). Finally, advanced age, previous hospital treatment, and the presence of one or more underlying diseases were associated with critical illness and death (p: < 0.02). Conclusions: Several epidemiological (e.g., age and occupation) and clinical factors (e.g., previous treatment, underlying diseases, and vital signs and laboratory parameters) were associated with critical illness and death in patients hospitalized with COVID-19. These data provide us with possible markers to avoid critical illness or death from COVID-19 in our region.