High-altitude is associated with better short-term survival in critically ill COVID-19 patients admitted to the ICU.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Multiple studies have attempted to elucidate the relationship between chronic hypoxia and SARS-CoV-2 infection. It seems that high-altitude is associated with lower COVID-19 related mortality and incidence rates; nevertheless, all the data came from observational studies, being this the first one looking into prospectively collected clinical data from severely ill patients residing at two significantly different altitudes.

Methods

A prospective cohort, a two-center study among COVID-19 confirmed adult patients admitted to a low (sea level) and high-altitude (2,850 m) ICU unit in Ecuador was conducted. Two hundred and thirty confirmed patients were enrolled from March 15th to July 15th, 2020.

Results

From 230 patients, 149 were men (64.8%) and 81 women (35.2

SUBMITTER: Simbana-Rivera K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8970356 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature