Clinical characteristics of 21 cases of COVID-19 induced death: A retrospective study / 西安交通大学学报(医学版)

ABSTRACT

【Objective】 To investigate the clinical characteristics of COVID-19 induced deaths and analyze the causes of death. 【Methods】 This was a hospital-based, retrospective, observational cohort study involving hospitalized patients diagnosed with COVID-19 in People’s Hospital of Wuhan University during January 27 and February 25, 2020. The clinical data of identified patients who had died of COVID-19 were retrieved and reviewed. We analyzed the death causes and compared the changes in laboratory findings between patients before death and early onset to summarize the inherent clinical characteristics. 【Results】 We recorded a total of 21 deaths, 61.9% of which had occurred due to simple respiratory failure, followed by respiratory failure with myocardial injury (19%), respiratory failure with renal failure (9.5%), and respiratory failure with shock (9.5%). At the late time, lab test data indicated that white blood cells, D-dimer, amino-terminal brain natriuretic peptide precursors, and hypersensitive C-reactive protein significantly increased while counts of lymphosyte significantly decreased (P<0.05). 【Conclusion】 Continuous monitoring of cardiac function, renal function, and infection severity can assess the disease progression accurately. Moreover, timely intervention has a positive effect in reducing COVID-19 mortality.