Duminda Yasaratne 1, Anuradha Kolombage2, Nuwani Nissanka1, Disnie Ranathunge1, Ruwan Buddhi1, Sameera Wasala1, Arjuna Madegama1
1Faculty of Medicine, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, 2Teaching Hospital, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka
Aim: To assess the predictors of mortality in severe COVID‐19 pneumonia.
Methods: We retrospectively analysed all severe COVID‐19 pneumonias admitted to Teaching Hospital, Peradeniya for one month in May‐June 2021.
Results: We had 78 severe COVID‐19 pneumonias (male 39, female 39) with a mean age of 62.6 (range 31‐90) years. There were 63 survivors, while 15 succumbed to illness.
Requirement for a high demand of supplementary oxygen during the course of illness, either through non‐rebreather mask, high flow nasal canula or non‐invasive ventilation, was identified as a significant predictor of mortality (OR 33.8, 95% confidence interval 4.6‐247.1, p=0.01).
Other potential predictors of mortality identified in this cohort were advance age, presence of diabetes mellitus or ischemic heart disease, high initial neutrophil: lymphocyte ratio and high initial c‐Reactive protein levels. (Table1)
Conclusion: Requirement for high oxygen supplementation (via non‐rebreather mask or above) was a significant predictor of mortality in COVID‐19 severe pneumonia. Advanced age, presence of comorbidities, white cell counts and c‐reactive proteins on admission were other potential predictors.
