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Characteristics and clinical outcomes of adult patients hospitalized with COVID-19 — Georgia, March 2020
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April 29, 2020
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Description:What is already known about this topic? Older adults and persons with underlying medical conditions are at higher risk for severe COVID-19. Non-Hispanic black patients are overrepresented among hospitalized U.S. COVID-19 patients.
What is added by this report? In a cohort of 305 hospitalized adults with COVID-19 in Georgia (primarily metropolitan Atlanta), black patients were overrepresented, and their clinical outcomes were similar to those of nonblack patients. One in four hospitalized patients had no recognized risk factors for severe COVID-19.
What are the implications for public health practice? Prevention activities should prioritize communities and racial groups most affected by severe COVID-19. Increased awareness of the risk for serious illness among all adults, regardless of underlying medical conditions or age, is needed.
SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronaVirus that causes coronaVirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), was first detected in the United States during January 2020 (1). Since then, >980,000 cases have been reported in the United States, including >55,000 associated deaths as of April 28, 2020 (2). Detailed data on demographic characteristics, underlying medical conditions, and clinical outcomes for persons hospitalized with COVID-19 are needed to inform Prevention strategies and community-specific intervention messages. For this report, CDC, the Georgia Department of Public Health, and eight Georgia hospitals (seven in metropolitan Atlanta and one in southern Georgia) summarized medical record–abstracted data for hospitalized adult patients with laboratory-confirmed* COVID-19 who were admitted during March 2020. Among 305 hospitalized patients with COVID-19, 61.6% were aged <65 years, 50.5% were female, and 83.2% with known race/ethnicity were non-Hispanic black (black). Over a quarter of patients (26.2%) did not have conditions thought to put them at higher risk for severe disease, including being aged ≥65 years. The proportion of hospitalized patients who were black was higher than expected based on overall hospital admissions. In an adjusted time-to-event Analysis, black patients were not more likely than were nonblack patients to receive invasive mechanical ventilation† (IMV) or to die during hospitalization (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.63; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.35–1.13). Given the overrepresentation of black patients within this hospitalized cohort, it is important for public health officials to ensure that Prevention activities prioritize communities and racial/ethnic groups most affected by COVID-19. Clinicians and public officials should be aware that all adults, regardless of underlying conditions or age, are at risk for serious illness from COVID-19.
Suggested citation for this article: Gold JA, Wong KK, Szablewski CM, et al. Characteristics and Clinical Outcomes of Adult Patients Hospitalized with COVID-19 — Georgia, March 2020. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. ePub: 29 April 2020. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6918e
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