Association between Chest X-ray Findings and Outcome with Coronavirus Disease 2019 in Saudi Arabia

Background: Approximately 10,000 individuals died due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Yet, data are still scarce in the region about the association between chest X-ray findings and mortality in these patients. Aim: The aim is to study the association between in-hospital mortality and chest X-ray abnormalities in a cohort of Saudi patients with COVID-19. Methods: A retrospective record review study was conducted in a Tertiary Center in Jeddah, KSA, to collect data from patients with COVID-19 who were admitted between April and December 2020. Sociodemographic, clinical, and chest X-ray data were collected, and logistic regression analysis was used to assess the association between in-hospital mortality and chest X-ray findings. Results: During the study period, a cohort of 108 patients with a mean age of 57.54 ± 12.74 years was recruited. Of those recruited, 78.7% had positive findings on their chest X-ray, and the overall in-hospital mortality rate was 58.3%. Hypertension ( P = 0.007) and X-ray findings (0.042) were the only significant predictors of in-hospital mortality due to COVID-19 infection on bivariate analysis. With multivariate logistic regression analysis, hypertension (odds ratio [OR]: 3.484; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.475–8.230; P = 0.004) and positive chest X-ray findings (OR: 2.710; 95% CI: 1.051–6.982; P = 0.039) were significant independent predictors of mortality. Conclusions: Patients with COVID-19 and positive chest X-ray findings had at least a double-fold risk for in-hospital mortality compared to those with negative scans in our cohort.