Timeline of critically ill 2019 SARS-CoV-2 cases after onset of illness: Intensive care data from Turkey Kritik 2019 SARS-CoV-2 hastalarında hastalık başlangıç anından itibaren zaman akış çizelgesi


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Küçük A. O., Pehlivanlar Küçük M., Pehlivanlar A., Ayaydin Mürtezaoğlu S., Çoban K., Semerci T., ...More

Tuberkuloz ve Toraks, vol.70, no.1, pp.63-75, 2022 (ESCI) identifier identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 70 Issue: 1
  • Publication Date: 2022
  • Doi Number: 10.5578/tt.20229908
  • Journal Name: Tuberkuloz ve Toraks
  • Journal Indexes: Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI), Scopus, CAB Abstracts, EMBASE, MEDLINE, TR DİZİN (ULAKBİM)
  • Page Numbers: pp.63-75
  • Keywords: COVID-19, Intensive care unit, mortality, SARS-CoV-2
  • Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University Affiliated: No

Abstract

Introduction: This study aimed to evaluate the epidemiological, clinical, laboratory characteristics and treatment and clinical outcomes of severe COVID-19 cases from a 3rd degree intensive care unit in Turkey. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted in a level three, 16-bed COVID intensive care unit. The investigation was planned as a retrospective and observational study. Patients who were admitted with COVID-19 pneumonia and respiratory failure in the intensive care unit between March 2020 and March 2021 and followed up due to critical illness were evaluated. Results: A total of 213 patients that were admitted to the intensive care unit with the diagnosis of COVID-19 pneumonia were included in the study. Median age of the patients was 66 (IQR 56.5-74) years, and 134 (62.9%) were males. One hundred and sixty-six (77.9%) of the patients had at least one comorbidity. Patients were followed up mainly with invasive mechanical ventilation [104 (48.8%)] and high flow nasal cannula [67 (31.5%)]. Median number of days was 7 (IQR 4-10) and included the first symptom onset to intensive care admission. The time to intubation was 9 (IQR 4-15) days, and the median day to intensive care discharge was 16 (IQR 11-23). After the symptoms started, first tocilizumab 9 (IQR 5-11) and pulse steroid treatment 8 (IQR 3-11) were found to be close to each other. In total, 95 (44.6%) of the 213 patients died. Conclusion: SARS-CoV-2 associated viral disease can progress after simple symptoms to hospital admission in a median of four days and to intensive care admission requiring intubation in a median of nine days. We believe that a better understanding of the clinical course of COVID-19 and its change between centers can be revealed through sharing information from different countries and centers.