Comparison of chronic diseases in deceased and survived patients with COVID-19 admitted to the hospital

Assessing the prevalence of chronic diseases is necessary to reduce complications and mortality rates in patients infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2). This study aimed to evaluate the chronic diseases in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and describe the clinical course of symptoms and changes in laboratory findings during the hospitalization of these patients.

This cross-sectional and retrospective study investigated the frequency of various chronic diseases in hospitalized patients with COVID-19,and compared them to deceased and improved patients in Razi Teaching Hospital, Ghaemshahr, MazandaranProvince, the northern part of Iran,duringthe March to September2020.Data analysis was performed by SPSS -21 using mean and standard deviation (SD) and chi-square test.

1000 patients were evaluated for chronic diseases. The most common chronic disease in patients with COVID-19 was diabetes (30.3%), followed by hypertension (HTN) (28.8%), and ischemic heart disease (IHD) (14.7%). Other chronic illnesses were less than the mentioned diseases including hypothyroidism (4.9%), heart failure (HF) (4.3%), renal failure (4.3%), obesity (2.3%), and corticosteroidconsumption (2.1%).

According to the results, chronic diseases such as diabetes, HTN, and cardiovascular disorders can increase the risk of mortality from COVID-19. The mortality rate in the present study was similar to the majority of studiesin this field. However, the difference in mortality rates with other studies may be because patients who required advanced medical care in the hospital and had an advanced stage of the disease were examined in our study.