Characteristics, outcomes and risk factors for mortality of 522 167 patients hospitalised with COVID-19 in Brazil: a retrospective cohort study.

Objective: To provide a comprehensive description of demographic, clinical and radiographic characteristics; treatment and case outcomes; and risk factors associated with in-hospital death of patients hospitalised with COVID-19 in Brazil.
Design: Retrospective cohort study of hospitalised patients diagnosed with COVID-19.
Setting: Data from all hospitals across Brazil.
Participants: 522 167 hospitalised patients in Brazil by 14 December 2020 with severe acute respiratory illness, and a confirmed diagnosis for COVID-19.
Primary and Secondary Outcome Measures: Prevalence of symptoms and comorbidities was compared by clinical outcomes and intensive care unit (ICU) admission status. Survival was assessed using Kaplan Meier survival estimates. Risk factors associated with in-hospital death were evaluated with multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression.
Results: Of the 522 167 patients included in this study, 56.7% were discharged, 0.002% died of other causes, 30.7% died of causes associated with COVID-19 and 10.2% remained hospitalised. The median age of patients was 61 years (IQR, 47-73), and of non-survivors 71 years (IQR, 60-80); 292 570 patients (56.0%) were men. At least one comorbidity was present in 64.5% of patients and in 76.8% of non-survivors. From illness onset, the median times to hospital and ICU admission were 6 days (IQR, 3-9) and 7 days (IQR, 3-10), respectively; 15 days (IQR, 9-24) to death and 15 days (IQR, 11-20) to hospital discharge. Risk factors for in-hospital death included old age, Black/Brown ethnoracial self-classification, ICU admission, being male, living in the North and Northeast regions and various comorbidities. Age had the highest HRs of 5.51 (95% CI: 4.91 to 6.18) for patients≥80, compared with those ≤20.
Conclusions: Characteristics of patients and risk factors for in-hospital mortality highlight inequities of COVID-19 outcomes in Brazil. As the pandemic continues to unfold, targeted policies that address those inequities are needed to mitigate the unequal burden of COVID-19.
Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared.
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