Hospitals with COVID surges had higher death rates
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About one in five U.S. COVID deaths during the Delta wave were because of overwhelmed hospital capacity, an analysis of data from 620 facilities showed.
Why it matters: The findings in Annals of Internal Medicine reinforce the need to minimize surges of patients during future health emergencies or staffing crises.
The big picture: Many hospitals across the country reported running out of intensive care unit beds as the deadly Delta variant surged in the second half of 2021.
- COVID deaths were higher in hospitals where caseloads exceeded resources, researchers found.
- Patients' odds of survival were reduced across hospital types, regardless of their size or available equipment, and even after adjustments for state COVID vaccination rates and other factors.
By the numbers: More than a quarter of the deaths were attributable to overcapacity in hospitals in the 50th to 75th percentile of an index measuring the severity of surges. Mortality exceeded 60% for hospitals in the 99th to 100th percentile.
- 34,300, or 15%, of patients with COVID in the study sample died or were discharged to hospice care between July and December of 2021.
- The researchers focused on the Delta wave because the virus had become more survivable and predictable by that point.
- Delta caused more than twice as many infections as previous variants and caused more severe disease than other variants in people who weren't vaccinated, per Yale Medicine.
Between the lines: Policies to transfer more patients between nearby facilities when one gets overwhelmed can help avoid the pitfalls of surges, the researchers said.
The bottom line: "Avoiding surging caseload across the spectrum of hospital types might be lifesaving," the authors wrote.
