During the pandemic, mortality in the 30 days after hospital admission for non-SARS-CoV-2 causes increased for Medicare beneficiaries<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
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THURSDAY, March 17, 2022 (HealthDay News) — Among Medicare beneficiaries, there was an increase in mortality rates in the 30 days after hospital admission for non-severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (non-SARS-CoV-2) causes during the COVID-19 pandemic (March 2020 through September 2021), according to a study published online March 9 in JAMA Network Open<\/em>.<\/p>\n Alexander Dang, M.D., from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, and colleagues used Medicare claims data to examine changes in mortality rates after hospitalization for non-SARS-CoV-2 conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic (January 2019 through September 2021) and how mortality varies by characteristics of the admission and hospital (4,626 U.S. hospitals). The analysis included 8.4 million adults with non-SARS-CoV-2 medical admissions.<\/p>\n The researchers found that mortality in the 30 days after admission increased from 9.43 percent in 2019 to 11.48 percent from April 1, 2020, to March 31, 2021 (odds ratio [OR], 1.20) when adjusting for admission and hospital characteristics. The increase in mortality was maintained during the first 18 months of the pandemic and varied according to race and ethnicity (ORs: 1.27 for Black enrollees, 1.25 for Hispanic enrollees, and 1.18 for White enrollees); Medicaid eligibility (ORs, 1.25 for Medicaid eligible versus 1.18 for noneligible); and hospital quality score (ORs, 1.27 for worst versus 1.11 for best). <\/p>\n “With the continued impact of SARS-CoV-2, it is important to implement interventions to improve access to high-quality hospital care for those with non-SARS-CoV-2 diseases,” the authors write. <\/p>\n Abstract\/Full Text<\/a><\/p>\n