Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35535924›Full record

ArticleJournal of hospital medicine2022

Death among patients hospitalized with symptomatic COVID-19: Implications for high-risk patients.

Mihaela S Stefan, Ahmed Eltanbedawi, Neil C Devoe, Sabiha Khan, Ya Zhou, Taroob Latef, Anthony Esposito, Anum Fatima, Alexander B Knee, Tara C Lagu

Open access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of hospital medicine, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
1.2field-weighted citation impact, top 22% of its field
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

4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 7 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Mihaela S StefanInstitute for Healthcare Delivery and Population Science, University of Massachusetts Medical School-Baystate, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-7947-4932
Ahmed EltanbedawiDepartment of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School-Baystate, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA.
Neil C DevoeDepartment of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School-Baystate, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA.
Sabiha KhanDepartment of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School-Baystate, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA.
Ya ZhouDepartment of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School-Baystate, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA.
Taroob LatefDepartment of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School-Baystate, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA.
Anthony EspositoDepartment of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School-Baystate, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA.
Anum FatimaDepartment of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School-Baystate, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA.
Alexander B KneeDepartment of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School-Baystate, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA.
Tara C LaguCenter for Health Services and Outcomes Research, Institute of Public Health and Medicine, Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
Baystate Medical Center · USNorthwestern University · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundWe aimed to examine the role played by the COVID-19 infection in patients' death and to determine the proportion of patients for whom it was a major contributor to death.

methodsWe included patients ≥50 years old who were hospitalized with COVID-19 infection and died between March 1, 2020 and September 30, 2020 in a tertiary medical center. We considered COVID-19 infection to be a major cause for death if the patient had well-controlled medical conditions and death was improbable without coronavirus infection, and a minor cause for death if the patient had serious illnesses and had an indication for palliative care.

resultsAmong 243 patients, median age was 80 (interquartile intervals: 72-86) and 40% were female. One in two had moderate or severe frailty and 41% had dementia. Nearly 60% of the patients were classified as having advanced, serious illnesses present prior to the hospitalization, with death being expected within 12 months, and among this group 39% were full code at admission. In the remaining 40% of patients, deaths were classified as unexpected based on patients' prior conditions, suggesting that COVID-19 infection complications were the primary contributor to death.

conclusionsFor slightly less than half (40%) of patients who died of complications of COVID-19, death was an unexpected event. Among the 60% of patients for whom death was not a surprise, our findings identify opportunities to improve end-of-life discussions and implement shared decision-making in high-risk patients early on or prior to hospitalization.

Indexed as

COVID-19Aged, 80 and overFemaleHospitalizationHumansMaleMiddle AgedPalliative CareSARS-CoV-2

Identifiers

PMID35535924
PMCPMC9088345
OpenAlexW4221035463

What OpenQuestion holds

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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.