Clinical features of patients hospitalised with COVID-19 from February to October 2020, during the early waves of the pandemic in New Zealand

Abstract

Aim: As New Zealand transitions towards endemic SARS-CoV-2, understanding patient factors predicting severity, as well as hospital resourcing requirements will be essential for future planning. Methods: We retrospectively enrolled patients hospitalised with COVID-19 from 26 February to 5 October 2020 as part of the COVID-19 HospitalisEd Patient SeverIty Observational Study NZ (COHESION). Data on demographics, clinical course and outcomes were collected and analysed as a descriptive case series. Results: Eighty-four patients were identified across eight district health boards. Forty-one (49%) were male. The median age was 58 years [IQR: 41.7–70.3 years]. By ethnicity, hospitalisations included 38 NZ European (45%), 19 Pasifika (23%), 13 Māori (15%), 12 Asian (14%) and 2 Other (2%). Pre-existing co-morbidities included hypertension (26/82, 32%), obesity (16/66, 24%) and diabetes (18/81, 22%). The median length of stay was four days [IQR: 2–15 days]. Twelve patients (12/83, 14%) were admitted to an intensive care unit or high dependency unit (ICU/HDU). Ten (10/83, 12%) patients died in hospital of whom seven (70%) were not admitted to ICU/HDU; the median age at death was 83 years. Conclusion: Despite initially low case numbers in New Zealand during 2020, hospitalisation with COVID-19 was associated with a high mortality and hospital resource requirements.