TABLE 3 : Outcomes of Patients Based on COVID-19 Results COV- COV + Not Tested All Patients p ( COV- vs . COV +) n = 2,057 n = 61 n = 1,452 n = 3,570 Fatalities * 47 ( 2.3 ) 3 ( 4.9 ) 36 ( 2.5 ) 86 ( 2.4 ) 0.172 Length of Stay 3.6 ( 1.8 – 7.4 ) 5.2 ( 2.5 – 11.0 ) 2.2 ( 1.1 – 4.7 ) 2.9 ( 1.5 – 6.3 ) 0.015 ICU Admission * 740 ( 36.0 ) 27 ( 44.3 ) 405 ( 27.9 ) 1,172 ( 32.8 ) 0.233
ICU Length of Stay ( If Admitted )
2 ( 2 – 4.25 ) 3 ( 2 – 4.5 ) 2 ( 2 – 4 ) 2 ( 2 – 4 ) 0.726
Intubated * 258 ( 12.5 ) 13 ( 21.3 ) 123 ( 8.5 ) 394 ( 11.0 ) 0.07
Ventilator Days ( If Intubated )
3 ( 2 – 6 ) 2 ( 1 – 3 ) 2 ( 1 – 4 ) 3 ( 2 – 5 ) 0.012
Discharge Destination * 0.015 Home / Routine 1,208 ( 58.7 ) 26 ( 42.6 ) 1,035 ( 71.3 ) 2,269 ( 63.6 ) Rehab / SNF / LTACH 710 ( 34.5 ) 27 ( 44.3 ) 314 ( 21.6 ) 1,051 ( 29.4 ) Hospice 15 ( 0.7 ) 2 ( 3.3 ) 10 ( 0.7 ) 27 ( 0.8 ) Other 124 ( 6.0 ) 6 ( 9.8 ) 93 ( 6.4 ) 223 ( 6.2 ) Complications * Any Complication 275 ( 13.4 ) 12 ( 19.7 ) 129 ( 8.9 ) 416 ( 11.7 ) 0.22 ARDS 3 ( 0.1 ) 0 ( 0.0 ) 1 ( 0.1 ) 4 ( 0.1 ) 1.00 DVT / PE 12 ( 0.6 ) 1 ( 1.6 ) 12 ( 0.8 ) 25 ( 0.7 ) 0.83 Readmission 51 ( 2.5 ) 1 ( 1.6 ) 32 ( 2.2 ) 84 ( 2.4 ) 1.00 Unplanned Admission to ICU 57 ( 2.8 ) 3 ( 4.9 ) 20 ( 1.4 ) 80 ( 2.2 ) 0.55 Unplanned Intubation 35 ( 1.7 ) 3 ( 4.9 ) 10 ( 0.7 ) 48 ( 1.3 ) 0.17 Wound or Surgical Infection 7 ( 0.3 ) 1 ( 1.6 ) 6 ( 0.4 ) 14 ( 0.4 ) 0.57
* n is described as a percentage (%). Length of stay , ICU length of stay , ventilator days are median interquartile ranges . COV- : Negative test for COVID-19 ; COV +: Positive test for COVID-19 ; ARDS : Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome ; DVT : Deep Vein Thrombosis ; PE : Pulmonary Embolism ; Rehab / SNF / LTACH : Rehabilitation center / Skilled Nursing Facility / Long-Term Acute Care Hospital ; other : Left against medical advice / morgue / correctional facility .
tients above and below 65 years of age with COV + or COV- status , there were no statistically significant differences ( Table 2 ). It is noted that even though there were no increased rates of geriatric deaths when comparing COV + and COV- patients , all three COV + patient deaths occurred in those patients over 65 years of age ( Figure 2 ).
Compared to COV- patients , COV + had no increased rate of mortality , ICU admission , or ICU length of stay . However , COV + patients had increased length of stay ( median 5.2 vs . 3.6 , p = 0.015 ) and intubation rates ( 21.3 % vs . 12.5 %, p = 0.07 ), but had fewer days on the ventilator ( median , 2 vs . 3 , p = 0.012 ). Discharge disposition was significantly different between the
two groups . COV + patients were more likely to be discharged to rehabilitation centers , skilled nursing facilities , or long-term acute care hospitals ( 44.3 % vs . 34.5 %) and less likely to routine or home ( 42.6 % vs . 58.7 %). COV + patients also had increased rates of hospice care ( 3.3 % vs . 0.7 %) ( p = 0.015 ). The remaining six COV + and 124 COV- patients were categorized as “ other ,” in which they went either into law enforcement custody or expired . Risk of any complication , including acute respiratory distress syndrome ( ARDS ), deep vein thrombosis ( DVT ), pulmonary embolism ( PE ), unplanned admission to the ICU , unplanned intubation , and surgical wound infections , were all similar between both groups ( Table 3 ).
DISCUSSION
In this retrospective study , we found no increased rates of mortality when comparing COV + and COV- patients with traumatic injury , adding to the variability shown in other findings . An Italian study by Giudici et al . had similar results as there was no increased hospital mortality in trauma COV + patients compared to COV- . 14 However , Kaufman et al . and Yeats et al . reported increased rates of mortality in a Pennsylvania and California trauma database analysis , respectively . 12-15 A more detailed chart review of the three COV + deaths within our single-center retrospective study revealed one fatality from acute hypoxic respiratory failure secondary to COVID-19 infection . The other two deaths
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