The spread of Coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) has led to many healthcare systems being overwhelmed by the rapid emergence of new cases. Here, we study the ramifications of hospital load due to COVID-19 morbidity on in-hospital mortality of patients with COVID-19 by analyzing records of all 22,636 COVID-19 patients hospitalized in Israel from mid-July 2020 to mid-January 2021. We show that even under moderately heavy patient load (>500 countrywide hospitalized severely-ill patients; the Israeli Ministry of Health defined 800 severely-ill patients as the maximum capacity allowing adequate treatment), in-hospital mortality rate of patients with COVID-19 significantly increased compared to periods of lower patient load (250–500 severely-ill patients): 14-day mortality rates were 22.1% (Standard Error 3.1%) higher (mid-September to mid-October) and 27.2% (Standard Error 3.3%) higher (mid-December to mid-January). We further show this higher mortality rate cannot be attributed to changes in the patient population during periods of heavier load. COVID-19 has caused many healthcare systems to become overwhelmed, potentially impacting patient care. Here, the authors show that COVID-19-related in-hospital mortality rates in Israel increased in periods of moderate or high hospital load, independent of patient characteristics.
【저자키워드】 SARS-CoV-2, viral infection, Epidemiology, Computational models, 【초록키워드】 COVID-19, Treatment, Hospitalized, hospital, Spread, Characteristics, morbidity, Patient, mortality rate, coronavirus disease 19, error, moderate, in-hospital mortality, COVID-19 patient, Standard, Healthcare system, Patient care, in-hospital mortality rate, Ministry of Health, independent, significantly increased, defined, caused, the patient, changes in, patients with COVID-19, 【제목키워드】 COVID-19 related mortality,