Table 2.
Hospitalization Characteristics of COVID-19 Inpatient Decedents by Level of English Proficiency
| Total deaths (n = 337) | English proficient (n = 248) | LEP (n = 89) | p Valuea | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Place of death | ||||
| ICU | 142 (42.1) | 87 (35.1) | 55 (61.8) | <0.001 |
| Inpatient palliative care | 63 (18.7) | 46 (18.6) | 17 (19.1) | |
| General ward | 118 (35.0) | 103 (41.5) | 15 (16.9) | |
| ER | 12 (3.6) | 10 (4.0) | 2 (2.3) | |
| Unclear location | 2 (0.6) | 2 (0.8) | 0 (0) | |
| HPM consultation | 208 (61.7) | 148 (59.7) | 60 (67.4) | 0.20 |
| Time to initial consult, median (IQR), days | 3 (1–7)b | 3 (0–7)c | 5 (2–9)d | 0.02 |
| Time from initial consult to patient death, median (IQR), days | 4 (2–9)b | 4 (2–8)c | 6 (2–13)d | 0.06 |
| Goals-of-care conversation | 327 (97.0) | 239 (96.4) | 88 (98.9) | 0.47 |
| Time to initial documentation, median (IQR), days | 1 (0–4)e | 1 (0–3)f | 1 (0–6)g | 0.06 |
| Code status change | <0.001 | |||
| Full code to CMO or DNR/DNI | 137 (40.7) | 82 (33.1) | 55 (61.8) | |
| Partial code to CMO or DNR/DNI | 30 (8.9) | 25 (10.1) | 5 (5.6) | |
| Prior/unknown to CMO or DNR/DNI | 9 (2.7) | 7 (2.8) | 2 (2.3) | |
| Full code to partial DNR | 15 (4.5) | 7 (2.8) | 8 (9.0) | |
| DNR/DNI to CMO | 101 (30.0) | 87 (35.1) | 14 (15.7) | |
| No change | 37 (11.0) | 33 (13.3) | 4 (4.5) | |
| Unable to determine | 8 (2.4) | 7 (2.8) | 1 (1.1) | |
| CPR performed | 18 (5.3) | 9 (3.6) | 9 (10.1) | 0.04 |
| Code status concordant | 17 (5.0) | 9 (3.6) | 8 (9.0) | |
| Code status discordant | 1 (0.3) | 0 (0) | 1 (1.1) | |
| Hospital length of stay, median (IQR), days | 9 (4–15) | 8 (4–13) | 13 (6–19) | <0.001 |
| ICU admission or transfer | 204 (60.5) | 131 (52.8) | 73 (82.0) | <0.001 |
| ICU length of stay, median (IQR), days | 7.4 (1.9–14.0) | 5.3 (1.1–11.1) | 10 (4–16) | <0.001 |
| Mechanical ventilation or ECMO | 141 (69.1) | 81 (61.8) | 60 (82.2) | 0.003 |
| Time on mechanical ventilation or ECMO, median (IQR), days | 11 (5–18) | 10 (5–18) | 13.5 (7.0–19.5) | 0.08 |
| Hospital type | 0.002 | |||
| Academic | 200 (59.4) | 135 (54.4) | 65 (73.0) | |
| Community | 137 (40.7) | 113 (45.6) | 24 (27.0) | |
| Admission month | 0.22 | |||
| March | 14 (4.2) | 9 (3.6) | 5 (5.6) | |
| April | 272 (80.7) | 197 (79.4) | 75 (84.3) | |
| May | 51 (15.1) | 42 (16.9) | 9 (10.1) |
Data are expressed as n (%) unless otherwise indicated.
Univariable comparison using Pearson's chi-squared test or Fisher's exact test when cell counts were <5 for categorical variables and Wilcoxon rank-sum test for continuous variables.
Unable to calculate time to initial consult for seven patients who were transferred from an outside hospital.
Unable to calculate time to initial consult for four patients who were transferred from an outside hospital.
Unable to calculate time to initial consult for three patients who were transferred from an outside hospital.
Unable to calculate time to initial documentation for eleven patients who were transferred from an outside hospital.
Unable to calculate time to initial documentation for six patients who were transferred from an outside hospital.
Unable to calculate time to initial documentation for five patients who were transferred from an outside hospital.
CMO, comfort measures only; CPR, cardiopulmonary resuscitation; ER, emergency room; HPM, hospice or palliative medicine; ICU, intensive care unit.