Africa witnessing relatively high mortality rate of COVID-19 patients admitted to ICUs: Study

According to the researchers, the aim of their study is to find out how COVID-19 patients admitted to ICUs are affected by the resources in the units.

Africa is witnessing a higher mortality rate in intensive cure units when compared to other parts of the world, according to a report by Ground Up. A provisional study of the continent reportedly said the rate of higher deaths in Africa could be due to a lack of resources.

The study which was led by Professor Bruce Biccard from UCT included 1,243 patients from 38 hospitals in Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Libya, Nigeria, and South Africa from April to early September. The study which is yet to be reviewed is titled "An African, multi-center evaluation of patient care and clinical outcomes for patients with COVID-19 infection admitted to high-care or intensive care units".

As per the researchers, a large volume of COVID-19 data has been produced in a short duration of time but their knowledge is limited about the disease in countries with scarce resources.

The study revealed that the hospitals of Africa maintain a mortality rate of 55 percent, which is 18-29 percent higher when compared to the global mortality of patients admitted to ICUs or high-care units. They said that the aim of their study is to find out how COVID-19 patients admitted to ICUs are affected by the resources in the units and comorbidities. It further explained that the hospitals in Africa tend to have fewer resources than hospitals in North America and Europe.