Risk factors associated with admission in the Intensive Care Unit among patients with COVID-19 in Colombian hospitals, a cohort study

Background: Hospitalized patients with COVID-19 present a variable clinical spectrum and its severity might be predicted by the presence of risk factors. Aim: To determine the factors associated with ICU admission in patients hospitalized for COVID-19 in Co-lombia. Method: Retrospective multicenter cohort study, in adult patients hospitalized for COVID-19 in Colombia, from March 2020 to January 2021. Population characteristics were described and ICU admission predictors were established using a logistic regression model. Results: 1,160 patients were included, mean age 55 years, 59.7% were men and 426 patients (36.7%) were admitted to the ICU. The associated factors were age (OR 1.25, 95% CI: 1.14-1.37), overweight (OR 2.82, 95% CI: 1.98-4.02) and obesity (OR 2.97, 95% CI: 2.03-4.37), valvular heart disease (OR 6.46, 95% CI: 1.84-27.48) hypotension at admission (OR 2.35, 95% CI: 1.40-3, 97), SIRS (OR 2.03, 95% CI: 1.50-2.74), dyspnea (OR 1.52, 95% CI: 1.09-2.14), oxygen requirement (OR 2.64, 95% CI: 1.67-4.30), neutrophilia (OR 1.09, 95% CI: 1.05-1.13), elevated D-dimer (OR 1.09, 95% CI: 1.03-1.18), multilobar lung involvement (OR 2.19, 95% CI: 1.58-3.07) and pulmonary consolidation (OR 1.52, 95% CI: 1.13-2.04). In-hospital mortality was 14.4% (166 patients), 2.3% among those that did not enter to the ICU and 35.2% among those who did. Conclusion: 36.7% of patients hospitalized for COVID-19 were ad -mitted to the ICU. We identified clinical predictors associated with this outcome. Predictive models using these parameters could improve the prognostic of those patients with COVID-19 that are hospitalized.