No increase in proportion of patients admitted to ICU, receipt of invasive mechanical ventilation, death while hospitalized
MONDAY, Oct. 25, 2021 (HealthDay News) — During a period of delta variant predominance, there was no increase in the proportion of patients who were admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU), received invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV), or died while hospitalized, according to research published in the Oct. 22 early-release issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Christopher A. Taylor, Ph.D., from the CDC COVID-19 Response Team, and colleagues used data from the CDC COVID-19-Associated Hospitalization Surveillance Network to examine trends in severe outcomes in adults aged 18 years and older hospitalized with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 during periods before (January to June 2021) and during (July to August 2021) delta variant predominance.
The researchers observed no significant change from the pre-delta period to the delta period in the proportion of patients who were admitted to an ICU, received IMV, or died while hospitalized. There was a significant increase seen in the proportion of hospitalized COVID-19 patients who were aged 18 to 49 years, from 24.7 to 35.8 percent of all hospitalizations in the pre-delta to delta periods, respectively. Overall, 71.8 percent of COVID-19-associated hospitalizations in the delta period were in unvaccinated adults; during the delta period, adults aged 18 to 49 years accounted for 43.6 percent of all hospitalizations among unvaccinated adults.
“COVID-19 vaccination is critical for all eligible adults, including those aged <50 years who have relatively low vaccination rates compared with older adults," the authors write.
Several authors disclosed financial ties to the biopharmaceutical industry.
Copyright © 2021 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
