Factors associated with early and late COVID-19 related deaths in Riyadh city, Saudi Arabia

Background: COVID-19 is a contagious viral disease affecting the respiratory system leading to severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and can progress to respiratory failure and death. Objective: To evaluate factors associated with early versus late COVID-19 related deaths for patients who were admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU). Methods: We prospectively followed up all critically ill cases with a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 who progressed to death at the adult ICU in Prince Mohammed bin Abdul-Aziz hospital in Riyadh, from January to December, 2020. We analyzed demographic characteristics, presenting symptoms and signs before and after admission, associated comorbidities, the use of mechanical ventilation and admission-death duration. A subsample of 160 cases were divided into two groups according to the admission to death duration, Group 1 14 days (n = 89). Results: A total of 160 deaths underwent detailed analysis. The population's median age was 60.4 years. There was significantly more deaths occurred in males 123/160 (77.5%) compared to females 37/160 (22.5%) (P < 0.001). There was significantly higher mortality cases in the age group of 60-69 years occurring in group 2 compared to group 1.