Morbidity and mortality in patients with Covid-19 who required ventilatory support. Western Regional Hospital. Belmopan, Belize

Abstract

Introduction: Managing the Covid-19 pandemic represented a challenge for all countries. The most complex situations arose in those scenarios of large outbreaks where the capacities of the health system were overwhelmed by the needs for medical care, especially in ICUs. Objective: To describe the morbidity and mortality of a patient with Covid-19 who required ventilatory support in the Intensive Care Unit for Covid-19 at the Western Regional Hospital, Belmopan, from December 2021 to February 2022. Method: A descriptive observational study was conducted in a sample of 86 patients. The variables studied were age, sex, concomitant diseases, type of ventilatory support, hospital stay of the patients who died, and condition at discharge. Results: 46.5% of the patients registered in January 2022; the male sex predominated (68.6%) and with ages between 46 and 55 years (15 cases, 33.3%). Diabetes mellitus and arterial hypertension were the most frequent comorbidities. Most of the patients received high flow oxygen by nasal cannula as a non-invasive ventilation modality without requiring orotracheal intubation or tracheostomy (59, 68.6 %). Overall mortality was 16.3%. Most of the patients were discharged directly to their homes. Conclusions: Despite having been created in an emergency setting and with limited specialized human resources, the Intensive Care Unit for the care of seriously ill patients positive for Covid-19 at the Western Regional Hospital contributed to meeting the care needs during the most critical stage of the pandemic in Belize.