August 14, 2020

Characteristics and Outcomes of COVID-19 Patients During Initial Peak and Resurgence in the Houston Metropolitan Area

Category: Article Summary

Topic: Clinical Characteristics and Health Care Setting

• A review of patients with confirmed COVID-19 in Houston, Texas during the initial peak and resurgence of COVID-19 (up to July 7) found that during the resurgence, patients were younger, more likely to be Hispanic, more likely to reside in a zip code with lower median income, and less likely to have general and specific comorbidities, compared to patients in the initial peak. Patients during the resurgence were more likely to receive remdesivir and enoxaparin. The analysis included 774 patients from the initial peak and 2,130 from the resurgence period. 
• ICU admission was significantly less common for patients during the resurgence (20% vs 38%), hospital stay was significantly shorter (4.8 versus 7.1 days), and in-hospital mortality was significantly lower (5% versus 12%). Morality among ICU-treated patients was unchanged.  

Vahidy et al. (Aug 2020). Characteristics and Outcomes of COVID-19 Patients During Initial Peak and Resurgence in the Houston Metropolitan Area. JAMA. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2020.15301