Why carry out this study?

Numerous case series have reported on the baseline characteristics and in-hospital mortality of patients with COVID-19, however, these studies included patients localized in a specific geographic region.

There is a significant variation in the clinical characteristics in patients diagnosed with COVID-19 across the globe.

What was learned from the study?

We found American and European patients diagnosed with COVID-19 are older and had a higher incidence of co-morbid conditions as compared to Asian patients.

In-hospital mortality is similar between America and Europe, but considerably higher than Asia.