Table 2 Management of patients during the first and second surge of the pandemic
First surge (until 26 May 2020) | Second surge 1 September–31 December 2020 | p value | |
|---|---|---|---|
Patients (n) | 1327 | 1298 | |
Time periods | |||
Days with symptoms prior to hospital admission | 7 (4–10) | 7 (4–10) | 0.35 |
Days in the hospital prior to ICU admission | 2 (1–4) | 2 (1–5) | < 0.0001 |
Length of ICU stay for patients discharged alive (days) | 15 (6–29) | 10 (5–20) | < 0.0001 |
Respiratory management | |||
Mechanical ventilation started on day 1 | 58% | 42% | < 0.0001 |
Mechanical ventilation | |||
Cumulative incidence at day 15 Cumulative incidence at day 30 | 78% (76–80) 78% (76–80) | 68% (65–70) 68% (66–71) | < 0.0001 |
Non-invasive ventilation | |||
Cumulative incidence at day 15 Cumulative incidence at day 30 | 19% (17–21) 21% (19–23) | 27% (24–29) 28% (25–30) | 0.0012 |
Non-invasive or mechanical ventilation | |||
Cumulative incidence at day 15 Cumulative incidence at day 30 | 85% (83–86) 85% (83–87) | 79% (76–81) 79% (77–81) | 0.0002 |
Prone positioning | |||
Cumulative incidence at day 15 Cumulative incidence at day 30 | 57% (54–60) 58% (54–61) | 55% (52–59) 56% (53–60) | 0.6074 |
Further management | |||
Vasoactive drugs | 77% | 67% | < 0.0001 |
Renal replacement therapy | 18% | 14% | 0.0069 |
Corticosteroids | 38% | 93% | < 0.0001 |
Antibiotics | 92% | 88% | 0.0009 |
Withholding or Withdrawal of treatment modalities | |||
Cumulative incidence at day 15 Cumulative incidence at day 30 | 29% (27–32) 37% (35–40) | 30% (27–32) 37% (35–40) | 0.86 |