Identifying Mortality Predictors in Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients: Insights from a Single-Center Retrospective Study at a University Hospital

Abstract

Introduction: The pandemic instigated by the SARS-CoV-2 virus has led to over 7 million deaths globally, primarily attributable to viral pneumonia. Identifying fundamental markers associated with an elevated risk of mortality can aid in the early identification of patients prone to disease progression to a severe state, enabling prompt intervention. Methods: This was a single-center, retrospective study. Results: In this study, we examined 299 patients admitted to the Department of Infectology and Travel Medicine in Košice, Slovakia, with PCR-confirmed COVID-19 pneumonia. Patients were monitored from 1 January 2021 to 31 March 2021, with the endpoint being discharge from the hospital or death. All patient-related data were retrospectively collected from medical records. This study identified several risk factors significantly associated with an increased risk of mortality, including the requirement of HFNO (p < 0.001), age over 60 years (p < 0.001), Ne/Ly values of >6 (p < 0.001), as well as certain lymphocyte subtypes—CD4+ < 0.2 × 109/L (p = 0.035), CD8+ < 0.2 × 109/L (p < 0.001), and CD19+ < 0.1 × 109/L (p < 0.001)—alongside selected biochemical inflammatory markers—IL-6 > 50 ng/L (p < 0.001) and lactate > 3 mmol/L (p < 0.001). Conclusions: We confirmed that the mentioned risk factors were significantly associated with the death of patients from viral pneumonia in the hospital.