Open AccessAdmission respiratory status predicts mortality in COVID‐19
Author(s) -
Chatterjee Neal A.,
Jensen Paul N.,
Harris Andrew W.,
Nguyen Daniel D.,
Huang Henry D.,
Cheng Richard K.,
Savla Jainy J.,
Larsen Timothy R.,
Gomez Joanne Michelle D.,
DuFaydeLavallaz Jeanne M.,
Lemaitre Rozenn N.,
McKnight Barbara,
Gharib Sina A.,
Sotoodehnia a
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
influenza and other respiratory viruses
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.743
H-Index - 57
eISSN - 1750-2659
pISSN - 1750-2640
DOI - 10.1111/irv.12869
Subject(s) - covid-19 , medicine , betacoronavirus , pandemic , pneumonia , intensive care medicine , emergency medicine , virology , outbreak , disease , infectious disease (medical specialty)
COVID‐19 has significant case fatality. Glucocorticoids are the only treatment shown to improve survival, but only among patients requiring supplemental oxygen. WHO advises patients to seek medical care for “trouble breathing,” but hypoxemic patients frequently have no respiratory symptoms. Our cohort study of hospitalized COVID‐19 patients shows that respiratory symptoms are uncommon and not associated with mortality. By contrast, objective signs of respiratory compromise—oxygen saturation and respiratory rate—are associated with markedly elevated mortality. Our findings support expanding guidelines to include at‐home assessment of oxygen saturation and respiratory rate in order to expedite life‐saving treatments patients to high‐risk COVID‐19 patients.