Slater, TA orcid.org/0000-0001-9213-5559, Straw, S orcid.org/0000-0002-2942-4574, Drozd, M orcid.org/0000-0003-0255-4624 et al. (3 more authors) (2020) Dying ‘due to’ or ‘with’ COVID-19: a cause of death analysis in hospitalised patients. Clinical Medicine. ISSN 1470-2118
Abstract
The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic is accompanied by an ever-rising death toll attributed to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), but questions have persisted regarding deaths formally attributed to COVID-19. We aimed to provide an independent review of clinical features of patients who died during hospitalisation with a positive PCR test for SARS-CoV-2 and relate these to the reported cause of death. Between 23 March and 28 April 2020, a total of 162 patients with a positive SARS-CoV-2 PCR died in our NHS trust. COVID-19 infection was documented as the direct cause of death in 150 (93%). Review of the records revealed 138 (92%) patients had pulmonary infiltrates on chest radiography, and 146 (97%) required oxygen therapy. This retrospective review of cause of death has demonstrated that the overwhelming majority of hospitalised patients with positive SARS-CoV-2 PCR died as a direct consequence of COVID-19 infection.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © Royal College of Physicians 2020. All rights reserved. This is an author produced version of a letter published in Clinical Medicine. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | COVID-19; SARS-COV-2; CORONAVIRUS |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Medicine and Health (Leeds) > School of Medicine (Leeds) > Leeds Institute of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Medicine (LICAMM) > Clinical & Population Science Dept (Leeds) The University of Leeds > Faculty of Medicine and Health (Leeds) > School of Medicine (Leeds) > Leeds Institute of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Medicine (LICAMM) > Discovery & Translational Science Dept (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 20 Aug 2020 15:00 |
Last Modified: | 03 Aug 2021 00:38 |
Status: | Published online |
Publisher: | Royal College of Physicians |
Identification Number: | 10.7861/clinmed.2020-0440 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:164686 |