AUTHOR=Mauer Nicole , Chiecca Greta , Carioli Greta , Gianfredi Vincenza , Iacoviello Licia , Bertagnolio Silvia , Guerra Ranieri , Odone Anna , Signorelli Carlo 

TITLE=The First 110,593 COVID-19 Patients Hospitalised in Lombardy: A Regionwide Analysis of Case Characteristics, Risk Factors and Clinical Outcomes

JOURNAL=International Journal of Public Health

VOLUME=Volume 67 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.ssph-journal.org/journals/international-journal-of-public-health/articles/10.3389/ijph.2022.1604427

DOI=10.3389/ijph.2022.1604427

ISSN=1661-8564

ABSTRACT=Objectives
To describe the monthly distribution of COVID-19 hospitalisations, deaths and case-fatality rates (CFR) stratified by important sociodemographic indicators and comorbidities, which occurred in Lombardy, the most populous and most severely affected Italian region by the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020.
Methods
De-identified hospitalisation data from electronic health records covering all COVID-19-related admissions from 1 February 2020 to 31 December 2020 were analysed. Cox proportional hazards models estimated the effect of potential predictors on survival.
Results
Hospitalisation peaks were observed in March and November. The highest CFRs were registered in February (39.8%) and March (30%). Patients aged ≥70 years had a five times higher risk of dying compared to those younger than 70 years (HR 5.30 [95%CI 5.08-5.52]). Risk of death increased progressively with the number of comorbidities, from 1.60 (95%CI 1.51-1.68) in patients with one condition, to 1.92 (95%CI 1.82-2.03) in those with two and 2.41 (95%CI 2.30-2.53) in those with ≥3 conditions.
Conclusions
Our data add to the body of knowledge needed to inform health systems’ policies in times of crisis, including effective health services delivery and preparedness.