Kyagambiddwa,Tonny, Kintu,Timothy Mwanje, Miiro,Emmanuel, Nabalamba,Franchesca, Asiimwe,Gloria Suubi, Namutebi,Anne Marion, Abeya,Fardous C, Lumori,Boniface A, Ijuka,Isaac, Muhindo,Rose K, Mutekanga,Andrew, Musinguzi,Richard, Natuhwera,Francis, Ngonzi,Joseph, Nuwagira,Edwin, Kyagambiddwa,Tonny, Kintu,Timothy Mwanje, Miiro,Emmanuel, Nabalamba,Franchesca, Asiimwe,Gloria Suubi, Namutebi,Anne Marion, Abeya,Fardous C, Lumori,Boniface A, Ijuka,Isaac, Muhindo,Rose K, Mutekanga,Andrew, Musinguzi,Richard, Natuhwera,Francis, Ngonzi,Joseph, and Nuwagira,Edwin
Tonny Kyagambiddwa,1,* Timothy Mwanje Kintu,1,* Emmanuel Miiro,1,* Franchesca Nabalamba,1 Gloria Suubi Asiimwe,1 Anne Marion Namutebi,2 Fardous C Abeya,3 Boniface A Lumori,3 Isaac Ijuka,4 Rose K Muhindo,1,3 Andrew Mutekanga,1,3 Richard Musinguzi,5 Francis Natuhwera,6 Joseph Ngonzi,1,7 Edwin Nuwagira3,8 1Faculty of Medicine, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara, Uganda; 2Kabale Regional Referral Hospital, Kabale, Uganda; 3Department of Medicine, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara, Uganda; 4Mayanja Memorial Hospital, Mbarara, Uganda; 5Masaka Regional Referral Hospital, Masaka, Uganda; 6Fort Portal Regional Referral Hospital, Fort Portal, Uganda; 7Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara, Uganda; 8Tuberculosis Treatment Unit, Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital, Mbarara, Uganda*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Tonny Kyagambiddwa; Edwin Nuwagira, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Tel +256782980116 ; +256779096887, Email tonnykyagambiddwa97@gmail.com; enuwagira@must.ac.ugBackground: There is scarcity of data regarding young and middle-aged adults hospitalized with severe Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Africa. In this study, we describe the clinical characteristics and 30-day survival among adults aged 18 to 49 years admitted with severe COVID-19 in Uganda.Methods: We reviewed treatment records of patients admitted with severe COVID-19 across five COVID-19 treatment units (CTU) in Uganda. We included individuals aged 18 to 49 years, who had a positive test or met the clinical criteria for COVID-19. We defined severe COVID-19 as having an oxygen saturation < 94%, lung infiltrates > 50% on imaging and presence of a co-morbidity that required admission in the CTU. Our main outcome was the 30-day survival from the time of admission. We used a Cox proportional hazards model to determine the factors asso