Association Between COVID-19 Outcomes and Patient Characteristics: A Study in an Inner-City Community Hospital

Background It has been shown that certain hematological conditions, such as lymphopenia and thrombocytopenia, are associated with increased severity and mortality from severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. However, a majority of the previous data came from large institutional centers with high academic output. We aimed to explore the association between patient's characteristics, hematological parameters, and outcomes in admitted persons with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) at our community hospital in an inner city. Methods This study is a retrospective chart review designed to evaluate the potential associations between demographic and clinical characteristics of our patient population and their outcomes when testing positive for SARS-CoV-2. The study population included patients hospitalized in the Saint Francis Medical Center from January 2020 to September 2020. This pilot study included 50 out of the 275 hospitalized patients with a confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection during this timeframe. Data collection from the patient's chart included age, sex, comorbidities, admission complete blood cell count, and use of Remdesivir, steroids, and plasma. The primary outcome was all-cause in-hospital mortality. Secondary outcomes included the need for mechanical ventilation and ICU admission. Results In this pilot study, there was an overall mortality rate of 32% (16 out of 50 patients). Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) of 3 points or above was present in 87.5% of the patients in the mortality group versus 41.1% in patients who survived (p = 0.0021). There was no statistically significant difference in mortality between males and females after adjusting for other variables with an odds ratio (OR) of 0.19 (95% CI 0.02-1.80, p = 0.09). There were no statically significant differences in mortality between Caucasians, non-Hispanic, Black, and Latinx patients (p = 0.466). Admission platelets were lower in the mortality group with a mean of 157.7 +/- 43.23 (Thou/ul) versus 250.06 +/- 93.95 (Thou/ul) in the survivors (p = 0.0005). Admission white blood cell count in the mortality group was lower than the survivor group with an average of 5.93 +/- 2.58 (Thou/ul) versus 9.3 +/- 4.14 (Thou/ul) (p = 0.0039), respectively. The plasma D-dimer level of 3 mg/L fibrinogen equivalent unit (FEU) or higher was associated with increased mortality. There was no association of C reactive protein (CRP) with mortality (p = 0.93 and p = 0.54, respectively); however, the CRP level revealed an association with ICU admission (p = 0.03). The use of steroids, Remdesivir, and plasma did not have a statistically significant effect on mortality, ICU admission, or sepsis in our study. Conclusion In this study, older age, higher CCI, and plasma D-dimer level of 3 mg/L FEU or higher were associated with higher mortality among COVID-19 patients. White blood cell count and platelet count were significantly lower in the mortality group in comparison to the survivor group. However, there was no statistical difference in lymphocyte count between the mortality group and the survivor group. COVID-19 patients with thrombocytopenia or serum CRP level of 15 mg/dL or higher were more likely to be admitted to ICU.