Public Health France published this Friday the data on patients admitted to intensive care since the start of the epidemic.
Last January, patients admitted to intensive care (which, along with intensive care and continuous monitoring, are part of critical care) mainly presented with comorbidity.
According to Public health France, in its weekly epidemiological report published on Friday February 4, 81% of people treated in intensive care (vaccinated or not) last month suffered from at least one comorbidity factor. Conversely, 19% had none.
Obesity, hypertension, diabetes
These causes of comorbidities were present in the following proportions in patients treated in intensive care last month. The total shares of these conditions are greater than 100%, since a patient may suffer from one or more:
- Obesity (BMI>=30): 37%;
- High blood pressure: 34%;
- Diabetes: 21%;
- Cardiac pathology: 18%;
- Pulmonary pathology: 17%;
- Others including immunosuppression, renal pathology, cancer, neuromuscular pathology, hepatic pathology: 8%.
Since March 2020, (start date of surveillance of serious cases of COVID-19 in intensive care throughout the territory), out of a total of 24,990 patients in the services observed by Public Health France, more than 20,000 suffered from a comorbidity.
While the vast majority of patients had at least one, the share of those with none increased from 11% between July and December 2020 to 17% between July December 2021 and 19% in January 2022 (data not consolidated).
two-thirds men
Over the entire period studied (March 2020-January 2022), the most frequently observed comorbidities in patients treated in intensive care remained obesity, arterial hypertension and diabetes.
In January 2022, two thirds of these patients were men (66%). The share of women fluctuates between 27% and 37% depending on the period.
The median age of patients (which splits this population in two) decreased from 65.7 years during the first monitoring period (March-June 2020) to 62.9 years for January 2022 (unconsolidated data).
Falling median age
The proportion of patients aged 65 and over has decreased from 53% in March-June 2020 to 45% last January. Conversely, the proportion of patients aged 15 to 64 has increased. They were 46% in March-June 2020 against 53% in January 2022.
Thus, from July 2021, people under the age of 65 represented the majority of patients admitted to intensive care in the services participating in the surveillance. Public Health France also specified during a recent report that nearly 15% of covid patients treated in critical care services were for a reason other than the coronavirus. These were patients treated for another pathology but tested positive on admission to hospital.
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