Clinical characteristics and predictors of death among hospitalized patients infected with SARS‑CoV‑2 in Sicily, Italy: A retrospective observational study

Cosentino,Federica; Moscatt,Vittoria; Marino,Andrea; Pampaloni,Alessio; Scuderi,Daniele; Ceccarelli,Manuela; Benanti,Francesco; Gussio,Maria; Larocca,Licia; Boscia,Vincenzo; Vinci,Giovanni; Zagami,Aldo; Onorante,Anna; Lupo,Gaetano; Torrisi,Salvatore; Grasso,Silvana; Bruno,Roberto; Iacobello,Carmelo; Bonfante,Salvatore; Guarneri,Luigi; Cascio,Antonio; Franco,Antonella; Del Vecchio,Rossella Fontana; Di Rosolini,Maria Antonietta; Pulvirenti,Alfredo; Larnè,Damiano; Nunnari,Giuseppe; Celesia,Benedetto Maurizio; Cacopardo,Bruno

doi:10.3892/br.2022.1517

Clinical characteristics and predictors of death among hospitalized patients infected with SARS‑CoV‑2 in Sicily, Italy: A retrospective observational study

Authors:
- Federica Cosentino
- Vittoria Moscatt
- Andrea Marino
- Alessio Pampaloni
- Daniele Scuderi
- Manuela Ceccarelli
- Francesco Benanti
- Maria Gussio
- Licia Larocca
- Vincenzo Boscia
- Giovanni Vinci
- Aldo Zagami
- Anna Onorante
- Gaetano Lupo
- Salvatore Torrisi
- Silvana Grasso
- Roberto Bruno
- Carmelo Iacobello
- Salvatore Bonfante
- Luigi Guarneri
- Antonio Cascio
- Antonella Franco
- Rossella Fontana Del Vecchio
- Maria Antonietta Di Rosolini
- Alfredo Pulvirenti
- Damiano Larnè
- Giuseppe Nunnari
- Benedetto Maurizio Celesia
- Bruno Cacopardo
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Affiliations: Unit of Infectious Diseases, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, ARNAS Garibaldi Nesima Hospital, University of Catania, I-95122 Catania, Italy, Infectious Disease Unit, Cannizzaro Hospital, I-95126 Catania, Italy, Infectious Diseases Unit, Gravina Hospital, I-95041 Caltagirone, Catania, Italy, Infectious Diseases Unit, Enna Hospital, I-94100 Enna, Italy, Infectious and Tropical Diseases Unit, Department of Health Promotion Sciences Maternal and Infantile Care, Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties (PROMISE), University of Palermo, I-90127 Palermo, Italy, Infectious Diseases Unit, Siracusa Hospital, I-96100 Siracusa, Italy, Infectious and Tropical Diseases Unit, Modica Hospital, I-97015 Ragusa, Italy, Bioinformatics Section, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Catania, I-95125 Catania, Italy, Unit of Infectious Diseases, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Messina, I-98124 Messina, Italy
Published online on: March 1, 2022 https://doi.org/10.3892/br.2022.1517
Article Number: 34
Copyright: © Cosentino et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License.

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Abstract

Since late December 2019, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 has spread across the world, which resulted in the World Health Organization declaring a global pandemic. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‑19) presents a highly variable spectrum with regard to the severity of illness. Most infected individuals exhibit a mild to moderate illness (81%); however, 14% have a serious disease and 5% develop severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), requiring intensive care support. The mortality rate of COVID‑19 continues to rise across the world. Data regarding predictors of mortality in patients with COVID 19 are still scarce but are being actively investigated. The present multicenter retrospective observational study provides a complete description of the demographic and clinical characteristics, comorbidities and laboratory abnormalities in a population of 421 hospitalized patients recruited across eight infectious disease units in Southern Italy (Sicily) with the aim of identifying the baseline characteristics predisposing COVID‑19 patients to critical illness or death. In this study, older age, pre‑existing comorbidities and certain changes in laboratory markers (such as neutrophilia, lymphocytopenia and increased C‑reactive protein levels) at the time of admission were associated with a higher risk of mortality. Male sex, on the other hand, was not significantly associated with increased risk of mortality. Symptoms such as fatigue, older age, a number of co‑pathologies and use of continuous positive airway pressure were the most significant contributors in the estimation of clinical prognosis. Further research is required to better characterize the epidemiological features of COVID‑19, to understand the related predictors of death and to develop new effective therapeutic strategies.

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