Death profiling of hospitalized patients with COVID-19: Experience from a specialized hospital in Bangladesh

Background The information on characteristics and causes of mortality in deceased patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is scarce in the literature. This study aimed to document the clinical profile with causes of death in deceased patients admitted in a COVID-19 dedicated hospital in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Methods This cross-sectional retrospective study included 108 COVID-19 associated deceased patients admitted in Kurmitola general hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh between 25 March 2020 and 24 June 2020) Data were collected from hospital record. Causes of death were categorized into early and late with cut-off of 48 hours of hospitalization. Results Among 809 hospitalized cases of COVID-19, 108 patient died (13.35%) over three months of study period. The mean age of the deceased patients was 60.22±13.94 years; 86.1% were male. About 85% had at least one comorbidity with diabetes mellitus (65.7%) was the most common one. The most common symptoms were breathlessness (88.0%), fever (65.7%) and cough (43.5%). Nearly 75% presented with severe disease. Patients had altered biochemical profiles and treated with different drugs including antibiotics and steroids. Young age and malnutrition were two characteristic features. Only one third got intensive care support. The most common cause of death was acute respiratory syndrome (95.37%). Septic shock & acute myocardial infarction were predominantly early and uremia, hepatic failure & hyperglycemic crisis were the predominant causes of late hospital death. Conclusions The findings of this study will help clinicians as well as policy makers to take necessary steps to prevent death from COVID-19 in Bangladeshi population.