In:
PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science (PLoS), Vol. 17, No. 3 ( 2022-3-31), p. e0262423-
Abstract:
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 15 th to July 15 th , 2020. Results From 230 patients, 149 were men (64.8%) and 81 women (35.2%). The median age of all the patients was 60 years, and at least 105 (45.7%) of patients had at least one underlying comorbidity, including hypertension (33.5%), diabetes (16.5%), and chronic kidney failure (5.7%). The APACHE II scale (Score that estimates ICU mortality) at 72 hours was especially higher in the low altitude group with a median of 18 points (IQR: 9.5–24.0), compared to 9 points (IQR: 5.0–22.0) obtained in the high-altitude group. There is evidence of a difference in survival in favor of the high-altitude group (p = 0.006), the median survival being 39 days, compared to 21 days in the low altitude group. Conclusion There has been a substantial improvement in survival amongst people admitted to the high-altitude ICU. Residing at high-altitudes was associated with improved survival, especially among patients with no comorbidities. COVID-19 patients admitted to the high-altitude ICU unit have improved severity-of-disease classification system scores at 72 hours.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
1932-6203
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0262423
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0262423.g001
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0262423.g002
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0262423.g003
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0262423.g004
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0262423.g005
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0262423.g006
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0262423.t001
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0262423.t002
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0262423.t003
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0262423.t004
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0262423.t005
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0262423.s001
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0262423.s002
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0262423.r001
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0262423.r002
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0262423.r003
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0262423.r004
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0262423.r005
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0262423.r006
Language:
English
Publisher:
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Publication Date:
2022
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2267670-3