Survival rate of COVID-19 ICU patients has improved since start of pandemic: Study
FirstpostThe death rate for COVID-19 intensive care patients has dropped by about one-third since the start of the pandemic, due at least in part to better hospital care, a review of published studies found. The research, led by Professor Tim Cook of England’s Royal United Hospitals Bath, found the overall mortality rate of Covid-19 patients in intensive care units has fallen from almost 60% since the end of March to 42% at the end of May. Study authors offered several explanations, including “rapid learning that has taken place on a global scale due to the prompt publication of clinical reports early in the pandemic.” They also suggested that hospital ICUs might have been under greater pressure early in the pandemic. The authors emphasized that the recent COVID-19 ICU mortality rate of around 40% is still much higher than the 22% for other viral pneumonias.