ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: After nine months of responding to the coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic, the scientific fraternity is yet to unravel the mystery of those who are at most risk from mortality. Despite resistance to wear masks, the global public health response has beaten the grimmer projections of millions of deaths. The present study seeks to analyze the survival of COVID-19 patients at a tertiary care hospital and identify the risk factors of mortality. METHODS: Medical records of 1233 RT PCR confirmed COVID-19 patients admitted in a tertiary care hospital between 01 April and 30 September 2020 were retrospectively analyzed for calculating overall survival and to investigate the independent predictors of survival of COVID-19 patients. RESULTS: There were 72 (5.8%) deaths; which occurred in 24.9% of the elderly (age > 60yrs) people (P < 0.001), 76.0% in people with multiple comorbidities (having more than one comorbidity) (P < 0.001), 75.6% in people with diabetes (P < 0.001), and 75.5% in people with hypertension (P < 0.001). A significantly higher risk of mortality was observed in elderly patients, patients with comorbidities, and patients requiring oxygen while admitted in the hospital. CONCLUSION: Survival reflects the cure rates and is used by health professionals and policymakers to plan and implement disease control measures. The insights provided by the study would help facilitate the identification of patients at risk and timely provision of specialized care for the prevention of adverse outcomes in the hospital setting.