COVID-19 status and intensive care unit burden and mortality: a single-center retrospective cohort study…

Cohort studyBMC infectious diseases· Jul 2026

COVID-19 status and intensive care unit burden and mortality: a single-center retrospective cohort study comparing COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 admissions.

Mateusz Bartoszewicz, Samuel Stróż, Sławomir Lech Czaban … Andrii S Herashchenko

Pulmonology & Critical CareCohort studyPrognosisQ1IF 3.2

COVID-19 status was associated with higher in-hospital mortality in intensive care units patients.

COVID-19 status and intensive care unit burden and mortality: a single-center retrospective cohort study comparing COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 admissions.

Mateusz Bartoszewicz … Andrii S Herashchenko

BMC infectious diseases · Jul 2026

Background

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) placed substantial pressure on intensive care units (intensive care units), but long-period comparisons with non-COVID-19 intensive care units patients remain useful for distinguishing disease-associated patterns from the general burden of critical illness.

Methods

Were classified as COVID-19-positive (n = 355) or COVID-19-negative (n = 2971) according to reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction testing.

n = 355

Results

being COVID-19 positive meant a higher chance of dying in the hospital

OR by subgroup · 95% CI

More results

This association remained after baseline adjustment (adjusted OR 2.03, 95% CI 1.60 to 2.58) and in the exploratory complete-case model including admission physiology and laboratory markers (adjusted OR 2.73, 95% CI 1.60 to 4.64).

14.3 [SD 20.0] days; mean difference - 3.63 days, 95% CI -5.07 to -2.18).

More results

At admission, COVID-19-positive patients had lower C-reactive protein, procalcitonin, PaO2, creatinine, and lactate, but higher PaCO2, glucose, sodium, potassium, bicarbonate, and hemoglobin values.

“

Conclusion · 1 of 2

In this retrospective cohort, COVID-19-positive status was associated with higher in-hospital mortality, shorter time to death among non-survivors, more frequent bacterial bloodstream infection, and a distinct intensive care units workload profile.

Conclusion · 2 of 2

These findings should be interpreted as associations rather than causal effects because of the single-center design, long heterogeneous study period, incomplete severity-score data, and lack of shift-level staffing and high-dependency-unit data.

COVID-19 status and intensive care unit burden and mortality: a single-center retrospective cohort study comparing COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 admissions.

COVID-19 status and intensive care unit burden and mortality: a single-center retrospective cohort study comparing COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 admissions.

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