Mortalidad en pacientes hospitalizados por COVID-19 durante la primera ola en una institución de tercer nivel de Neuquén

Introduction: In December 2019, an outbreak of disease due to a new coronavirus was detected that evolved into a pandemic with severe respiratory morbidity and mortality. Health systems had to face an unexpected number of patients with respiratory failure. In Argentina, quarantine and health control measures delayed the first peak of the pandemic and offered time to prepare the health system with infrastructure, personnel and protocols based on the best evidence available at the time. In a third level institution of Neuquén, Argentina, a care protocol was developed to confront the pandemic adapted by evolving best evidence and periodic evaluations of hospital mortality. Methods: Observational cohort study to evaluate the evolution of patients hospitalized for COVID-19 with care protocols in terms of overall hospital mortality and at day 28 at the Pasteur Clinic in Neuquén in 2020. Results: This report describes the 501 patients diagnosed until December 31, 2020. Mortality was 16.6% (83/501) and 12.2% (61/501) on day 28 of admission. Of the 139 (27.7%) patients with mechanical ventilation, 37.4% (52/139) and 28.1% (38/139) died, respectively. The risk factors identified were age, comorbidities and high oxygen requirements on admission. Conclusion: The mortality observed in patients hospitalized in our institution during the first wave of COVID-19 pandemic was lower than other publications in Argentina and similar to international reports for the same period.