Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33321393›Full record

ArticleThe Journal of surgical research2021

A Closer Look Into Global Hospital Beds Capacity and Resource Shortages During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Brendon Sen-Crowe, Mason Sutherland, Mark McKenney, Adel Elkbuli

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in The Journal of surgical research, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 148 papers, 8 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
148citing papers in PubMed, 8 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

148 citing papers in PubMed, 8 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

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  17. The Effect of COVID-19 on Length of Stay in Hospital and Patient Population Following Burn Injury.Journal of burn care & research : official publication of the American Burn Association · 2026
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88 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Brendon Sen-CroweDivision of Trauma and Surgical Critical Care, Department of Surgery, Kendall Regional Medical Center, Miami, Florida.
Mason SutherlandDivision of Trauma and Surgical Critical Care, Department of Surgery, Kendall Regional Medical Center, Miami, Florida.
Mark McKenneyDivision of Trauma and Surgical Critical Care, Department of Surgery, Kendall Regional Medical Center, Miami, Florida; Department of Surgery, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida.
Adel ElkbuliDivision of Trauma and Surgical Critical Care, Department of Surgery, Kendall Regional Medical Center, Miami, Florida. Electronic address: Adel.Elkbuli@hcahealthcare.com.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAs the COVID-19 pandemic continues, there is a question of whether hospitals have adequate resources to manage patients. We aim to investigate global hospital bed (HB), acute care bed (ACB), and intensive care unit (ICU) bed capacity and determine any correlation between these hospital resources and COVID-19 mortality.

methodCross-sectional study utilizing data from the World Health Organization (WHO) and other official organizations regarding global HB, ACB, ICU bed capacity, and confirmed COVID-19 cases/mortality. Descriptive statistics and linear regression were performed.

resultsA total of 183 countries were included with a mean of 307.1 HBs, 413.9 ACBs, and 8.73 ICU beds/100,000 population. High-income regions had the highest mean number of ICU beds (12.79) and HBs (402.32) per 100,000 population whereas upper middle-income regions had the highest mean number of ACBs (424.75) per 100,000. A weakly positive significant association was discovered between the number of ICU beds/100,000 population and COVID-19 mortality. No significant associations exist between the number of HBs or ACBs per 100,000 population and COVID-19 mortality.

conclusionsGlobal COVID-19 mortality rates are likely affected by multiple factors, including hospital resources, personnel, and bed capacity. Higher income regions of the world have greater ICU, acute care, and hospital bed capacities. Mandatory reporting of ICU, acute care, and hospital bed capacity/occupancy and information relating to coronavirus should be implemented. Adopting a tiered critical care approach and targeting the expansion of space, staff, and supplies may serve to maximize the quality of care during resurgences and future disasters.

Indexed as

COVID-19Critical CareCross-Sectional StudiesGlobal Burden of DiseaseGlobal HealthHealth ResourcesHospital Bed CapacityHumansIntensive Care UnitsPandemicsBed capacityCOVID-19Global healthHospital resources

Identifiers

PMID33321393
PMCPMC7685049

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.