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EMPHNET 7th Regional Conference 2021: “Towards Public Health Resilience in the EMR: Breaking Barriers” (62)

Published on in Vol 8, No 1 (2022): Jan-Dec

Preprints (earlier versions) of this paper are available at https://preprints.jmir.org/preprint/36511, first published .
Pattern of Comorbidities and the Impact on Outcomes in Patients With COVID-19 in Babel Governorate, Iraq, in 2020

Pattern of Comorbidities and the Impact on Outcomes in Patients With COVID-19 in Babel Governorate, Iraq, in 2020

Pattern of Comorbidities and the Impact on Outcomes in Patients With COVID-19 in Babel Governorate, Iraq, in 2020

Authors of this article:

Alaa Hussein1 ;   Faris Lami1 Author Orcid Image
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    Abstract

    Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Babil Al-Hilla, Iraq

    Corresponding Author:

    Alaa Hussein, MBChB

    Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research

    Babil Health Directorate, Public Health Department

    Al Mussaib Health District

    Babil Al-Hilla

    Iraq

    Phone: 964 07801531937

    Email: Alaa.hussein1300a@comed.uobaghdad.edu.iq


    Background: Comorbidities pose a major clinical challenge to the care and treatment of patients with COVID-19.

    Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the effects of common comorbidities on the severity, outcome, and length of stay in the hospital for patients with COVID-19 in Babel Governorate, Iraq, in 2020.

    Methods: All laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the 2 COVID-19 hospitals in Babel Governorate from March through September 2020 were included. We developed a form to document sociodemographic data, clinical presentation, severity, comorbidities, length of hospital stay, and outcomes.

    Results:  A total of 2574 patients were included; 1581 (61.4%) were men. The mean age was 48.7 (SD 16.4) years. There were 1212 (47.1%) severe cases and 489 (19%) critical cases. There were 1543 (59.9%) patients with no comorbidity, 536 (20.9%) patients with 1 comorbidity, and 495 (19.2%) patients with 2 or more comorbidities. The most common comorbidity was diabetes mellitus (643/1599, 25%), followed by hypertension (598/1599, 23.4%). The proportion of severe or critical cases among the patients with comorbidities was 84% (865/1031) compared to 54.1% (836/1543) among the patients with no comorbidity (P<.001). About 12% (125/1031) of patients with comorbidities had a mean hospitalization time >2 weeks compared to the 8% (123/1543) of patients with no comorbidity (P<.001). The case-fatality ratio was 26.4% (272/1031) in patients with comorbidities compared to 10.6% (163/1543) in patients with no comorbidity (P<.001).

    Conclusions: Comorbidity is a significant predictor of serious hospital course and fatal outcomes in patients with COVID-19. Patients with comorbidities must be vigilant with preventive measures and should be prioritized for COVID-19 vaccination.

    iproc 2022;8(1):e36511

    doi:10.2196/36511

    Keywords

    comorbidities; COVID-19; Iraq; hypertension; diabetes; 2020 

    Edited by Y Khader; This is a non–peer-reviewed article. submitted 16.01.22; accepted 24.01.22; published 24.02.22

    Copyright

    ©Alaa Hussein, Faris Lami. Originally published in Iproceedings (https://www.iproc.org), 24.02.2022.

    This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work, first published in Iproceedings, is properly cited. The complete bibliographic information, a link to the original publication on https://www.iproc.org/, as well as this copyright and license information must be included.