Estimating and Characterizing COVID-19 Deaths, Puerto Rico, March-July 2020

Details

• Personal Author:
  Azofeifa, Alejandro ; Cabrera JJ ; Cruz M ; Hayes D ; Montañez-Báez E ; Rodriguez CJ ; Tejada-Vera B ; Valencia D ; Valencia-Prado M ; Villafañe-Delgado JE
• Description:
  Objectives: Using the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE) classification guidelines, we characterized coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-associated confirmed and probable deaths in Puerto Rico during March-July 2020. We also estimated the total number of possible deaths due to COVID-19 in Puerto Rico during the same period. Methods: We described data on COVID-19-associated mortality, in which the lower bound was the sum of confirmed and probable COVID-19 deaths and the upper bound was excess mortality, estimated as the difference between observed deaths and average expected deaths. We obtained data from the Puerto Rico Department of Health COVID-19 Mortality Surveillance System, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Electronic Disease Surveillance System Base System, and the National Center for Health Statistics. Results: During March-July 2020, 225 COVID-19-associated deaths were identified in Puerto Rico (119 confirmed deaths and 106 probable deaths). The median age of decedents was 73 (interquartile range, 59-83); 60 (26.7%) deaths occurred in the Metropolitana region, and 140 (62.2%) deaths occurred among men. Of the 225 decedents, 180 (83.6%) had been hospitalized and 93 (41.3%) had required mechanical ventilation. Influenza and pneumonia (48.0%), sepsis (28.9%), and respiratory failure (27.1%) were the most common conditions contributing to COVID-19 deaths based on death certificates. Based on excess mortality calculations, as many as 638 COVID-19-associated deaths could have occurred during the study period, up to 413 more COVID-19-associated deaths than originally reported. Conclusions: Including probable deaths per the CSTE guidelines and monitoring all-cause excess mortality can lead to a better estimation of COVID-19-associated deaths and serve as a model to enhance mortality surveillance in other US jurisdictions. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Aging Communicable Diseases Health Care Facilities Workforce And Services Influenza, Human Mortality Occupational Health Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety Viral Diseases
• Keywords:
  Age Groups Author Keywords: COVID-19 Coronavirus COVID-19 Data Processing Death Certificates Disease Incidence Disease Transmission Excess Deaths Guidelines Health Care Humans Infectious Diseases Influenza Information Retrieval Systems Medical Monitoring Medical Services Mortality Mortality Data Mortality Rates Mortality Studies Pneumonia Puerto Rico Respiratory Diseases Respiratory Function Statistical Analysis Surveillance Viral Diseases Viral Infections

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• ISSN:
  0033-3549
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  District of Columbia ; Georgia ; OSHA Region 2 ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 4 ; Puerto Rico
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  WTCHP - World Trade Center Health Program
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  354-360
• Volume:
  136
• Issue:
  3
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20062122
• Citation:
  Public Health Rep 2021 May; 136(3):354-360
• Contact Point Address:
  Miguel Valencia-Prado, MD, Puerto Rico Department of Health, 1111 Calle Teniente Cesar Luis Gonzalez, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00927
• Email:
  mvalencia@salud.pr.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2021
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Public Health Reports
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:0538e29fe43d6a8ed780b62d4435ee4cf1348f2d9ce62a5df4fb8d6f46c20ffe368caf606715dce4f2c57a752c1b959852e9d82dd77fbc519c698f2a19dda7c8
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/225434/cdc_225434_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 495.36 KB ]