Abstract
Background: It is of utmost importance to identify populations with the elevated risk for Covid-19 and the factors influencing its outcomes. The present study aimed to investigate the factors affecting mortality and length of stay (LOS) in the hospitals of East Azerbaijan Province, Iran, during a 15 months period of this pandemic.
Study design: A retrospective study.
Methods: This retrospective study was conducted by using data on ISSS (integrated syndromic surveillance system) on the patients admitted to the hospitals from February 21, 2020, to April 11, 2021. The association of variable of interest on death and LOS was investigated via multiple logistic regression and multiple linear regression.
Results: In total, 24,293 inpatients with the mean age of 53.99±19.37 years old were included in this study. About 15% of patients lost their lives. The mean age of the deceased patients was 69.02±14.64 years old and significantly higher than the recovered ones (p<0.001). Aging, male gender and having chronic diseases were correlated with the patient mortality. In addition,  aging and having chronic diseases were associated with higher LOS in hospitals.
Conclusions: The older patients were at a higher risk of mortality and even prolonged hospitalization. In addition, patients’ underlying diseases could cause a severe form of COVID-19 and these individuals were more likely to lose their lives and stay in hospitals for a longer time due to COVID-19.