Study: Nearly 40% Of Critically Ill COVID-19 Patients Never Leave Hospital

Study: Nearly 40% Of Critically Ill COVID-19 Patients Never Leave Hospital

Most patients who are hospitalized with novel coronavirus COVID-19 require mechanical ventilation to help them breathe.

That's according to a new study from New York City's Columbia University Irving Medical Center, published in The Lancet.

UPI reports the findings also show that 40% of those same patients become critically ill and ultimately pass away.

Critical illness was more common in older patients, who had a median age of 62, but roughly one in five patients were under 50.

Nearly half of the patients were obese.

In general, the findings in New York City mirror reports from China, Italy and Britain.

As in the US, older age and preexisting conditions are the most prominent risk factors associated with poor outcomes from the virus.