News release

From: American College of Physicians

COVID-19 hospitalizations, ICU admissions, and deaths highest in December 2020 before vaccines became widely available

A pooled cross-sectional study between March and December 2020 found that rates of COVID-19 hospitalizations, ICU admissions, and in-hospital deaths peaked in December before vaccines became widely available. Among hospitalized patients with COVID-19, use of effective therapeutics increased while implementation of invasive support measures such as mechanical ventilation waned. The findings are published in Annals of Internal Medicine.

The clinical epidemiology of COVID-19 among U.S. adults has been well described, and older age and underlying conditions have been identified as risk factors for hospitalization and death. However, data on trends in clinical characteristics and outcomes of COVID-19–associated hospitalizations over time are limited.

Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) used a large, geographically diverse, population-based surveillance network to describe monthly trends in rates of severe outcomes associated with COVID-19 among U.S. adults from March to December 2020. Among hospitalized patients, they also described monthly trends in the distribution of clinical characteristics, interventions, and outcomes. The researchers found that among the 116,743 adults in the analysis, rates of all hospitalization, ICU admission, and in-hospital death were highest among adults aged 65 years or older, males, and Hispanic or non-Hispanic Black persons. Among 18,508 sampled hospitalized adults with detailed information, use of remdesivir and systemic corticosteroids increased while use of mechanical ventilation and other intensive interventions decreased and outcomes improved. These findings suggest that clinical practice evolved based on increasing knowledge, experience, and tools to combat COVID-19 during the pandemic.