Characteristics, treatment, outcomes and cause of death of invasively ventilated patients with COVID-19 ARDS in Milan, Italy Infographic by Tommaso Scquizzato @tscquizzato Source for infographic: https://bit.ly/2SiXYgD IG: https://www.instagram.com/p/B_W6sOT FB: https://www.facebook.com/SRAnesthes Case series of 73 mechanically ventilated #COVID19 patients with #ARDS in Milan, Italy with the longest follow-up. Mortality of ICU mechanically ventilated patients with COVID-19 ARDS is as high as 23% at the 20 days follow-up. Acute kidney injury (75%) and secondary bacteremia (37%) are the most frequent complications of COVID-19 ARDS. Also, pneumothorax, pneumomediastinum, and thromboembolic complications were relatively common. Hypertension, rapid disease progression, older age and low SpO2 at admission are predictors of mortality in COVID-19 patients admitted to the ICU. COVID-19 ARDS patients admitted to the ICU with early improvement in PaO2/FiO2 are more likely to survive. We were the first ones to notice that smokers are poorly represented among critically ill COVID-19 ARDS patients: selection bias? poor collection of medical history? protective effect of tobacco? At hospital admission, lymphocytopenia was present in 73% of COVID-19 patients and the median C-reactive protein was 184 mg/dL (IQR, 108.2–269.1 mg/dL).
