Baseline characteristics and outcome predictors in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in the University General Hospital of Ioannina, Greece

I NTRODUCTI ON The novel Severe Acute Respi ratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2, which causes the coronavirus disease COVID-19, is a highly infectious viral pathogen that is responsible for the ongoing pandemic. The aim of the present study was to illustrate the pre-hospitalization baseline characteristics and comorbidities of patients admitted with COVID-19 and their association with patient outcomes. METHODS This was a retrospective observational study of consecutive patients who were admitted to the COVID-19 departments of the University General Hospital of Ioannina, Greece (March 2020 – August 2021). Patients’ demographic data, chronic disease medication use, and comorbidities were recorded upon their admission. RESULTS A total of 627 patients were hospitalized with mean age 62.5 years, 65.2% with at least one comorbidity, and 43.1% female. The median hospitalization duration was 11 days; 554 (88.4%) of the patients were discharged and the mortality rate was 11.6%. Older age, admission during the second pandemic wave, arterial hypertension, and diabetes mellitus were associated with longer hospitalization. In multivariate analyses, cardiovascular disease was an independent predictor of hospitalization length (OR=1.834; 95% CI: 1.039–3.228), whereas age (HR=1.079; 95% CI: 1.045–1.115), history of malignancy (HR=1.246; 95% CI: 1.002–1.595), and a diagnosis of COPD (HR=1.989; 95% CI: 1.025–7.999) remained the independent mortality predictors. CONCLUSIONS Our data highlight the effect of COPD and malignancy on mortality risk in COVID-19 patients and the association of cardiovascular disease with a longer hospitalization.