17.3 percent of Austrian Covid hospital patients died

2023-05-30 05:01:00

In a study published in “Scientific Reports”, they report that 17.3 percent of Covid-19 patients died in Austria’s hospitals between January 1, 2020 and December 31, 2021. Men and the elderly were at extreme risk. Vienna/Graz/Innsbruck. In their retrospective study, Paul Zajic (MedUni Graz), Michael Hiesmayr (MedUni Vienna), Michael Joannidis (MedUni Innsbruck) and the other co-authors evaluated all patient data available in Austria for the observation period in the first two years of the Covid 19 pandemic is trying to analyze all hospital admissions of SARS-CoV-2 patients in Austria as well as those in intensive care units and intermediate care beds (“middle thing” between normal ward and intensive care ward; note), their mortality and characteristics. “68,193 patients were included. 8,304 (12.3 percent) were admitted primarily to an intensive care unit. 3,592 (5.3 percent) were admitted to an intermediate care unit,” the scientists wrote.

The data strongly suggests that one should try to protect SARS-CoV-2 infected people from severe disease progression by vaccination – if necessary also by rapid application of medication such as Paxlovid etc. The authors of the study: “Hospital mortality (of Covid-19 patients; NB) was 17.3 percent. The risk factors were male gender (mortality 67 percent higher than women; NB) and old age (one around the 7th 86-fold increased mortality of over 90 year olds compared to 60 to 64 year olds; note).”

In the time course between January 1, 2020 and December 31, 2021, in-hospital mortality due to Covid-19 was statistically significantly higher by 15 percent in the first half of 2020 than the overall average, and also by a statistically significant eleven percent higher in the second half of 2021. There is likely to be a connection here with the particularly high number of cases during these periods. Most often, Covid-19 patients in the age group between 55 and 74 years were admitted to intensive care units and intermediate care units. While this is understandable for the younger age groups because of the lower overall risk, it cannot be fully explained for the very old, the study authors wrote.

Covid-19 apparently made Austrian men sicker than women: Of the patients admitted to intensive care units from the start (8,304 patients), only 35.2 percent were women (2,919 people). 64.8 percent were men (5,385). Overall, however, there were two risk factors in particular, as the study authors state: “In all patients (…) male gender was identified as a risk factor for hospital mortality (from Covid-19; note) (risk with a factor of 1.67 compared to women ; NB). There was an almost linear association between age and in-hospital mortality.”

While Covid-19 patients aged up to 19 years after hospital admission only had five percent of the risk of death of 60- to 64-year-olds and 55- to 59-year-olds had about half the risk (55 percent) of the comparison group the risk increases by 42 percent among 65 to 69 year olds. 80- to 84-year-olds then had a mortality risk that was 3.54 times higher (compared to 60- to 64-year-olds). 85- to 89-year-olds died in hospital 5.14 times more often, and over 90-year-olds 7.86 times more often.