March 10, 2020

expert reaction to study looking at risk factors associated with death in adults who have been hospitalised with COVID-19

A study, published in The Lancet, reports on risk factors associated with death in adults who have been hospitalised with COVID-19.

Prof Keith Neal, Emeritus Professor in the Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases, University of Nottingham, said:

“The risk factors for death of severe illness and increased age are already recognised and common to nearly all infections.   Underlying health conditions associated with infection has also been previously reported.

“The key finding this paper adds is the prolonged virus shedding and the recovered patients main remain infectious for longer than previously thought.  This has implications for isolating recovered patients which can easily be implemented in most instances.”

‘Clinical course and risk factors for mortality of adult inpatients with COVID-19 in Wuhan, China: a retrospective cohort study’ by Zhou et al. has been published in The Lancet.

DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30566-3

Declared interests

None received.