Clinical Characteristics of Patients Who Died of Coronavirus Disease 2019 in China

Another interesting finding of this case series is that hypertension was the most common chronic comorbidity among patients who died. A previous 2020 case series 1 also reported a higher rate of hypertension among patients with COVID-19 who were admitted to intensive care units than among patients with COVID-19 who were not admitted to intensive care units. However, hypertension usually is not an independent risk factor associated with mortality in patients with sepsis. According to a study from earlier this year, 6 severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infects the lungs through the angiotensin-converting enzyme II receptor. Further research is needed to find the mechanism of COVID-19. In addition, clinical studies are also needed to confirm whether angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers could be beneficial for patients with COVID-19.