Results of 1,430 Patients Admitted to Intensive Care Unit with Suspicion of COVID-19 in Turkey’s Capital-Ankara: A Single Center Study

Objective: The patients admitted to coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) intensive care units (ICUs) with the suspicion of COVID-19 in the first four months of the pandemic were evaluated both in diagnostics and according to periods of the pandemic. Materials and Methods: The data of 1,430 patients admitted to the COVID-19 ICUs were recorded with the same algorithm in a single-center retrospectively. Patients were classified as COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 patients according to polymerase chain reaction results, radiological and clinical findings. Also, COVID-19 patients were compared as dying and surviving. Additionally, the data of patients admitted to COVID-19 ICUs during the onset of the pandemic and during the normalization period were also compared. Results: Of 1,430 patients, 630 were included in the COVID-19 group and 800 in the non-COVID-19 group. While there was a significant difference in the mean age of the groups, there was no difference between the genders (p=0.001, p=0.262 respectively). The age in the COVID-19 and deceased group was higher than that in the survivors (p<0.001). The most common presenting symptom was dyspnea (51.2%), while hypertension’s most common comorbidity (51.2%). During the normalization period, the rate of patients admitted to the ICU with the diagnosis of COVID-19 and the mortality rates in the ICU was higher. Conclusion: The initial period of the pandemic was spent understanding COVID-19, which entered our lives as a mystery at the same time. It was a guiding period for us to treat patients more effectively while protecting the community and healthcare professionals.