Review Articles

Risk factors and interventions associated with mortality or survival in adult COVID-19 patients admitted to critical care: a systematic review and meta-analysis

E.H. Taylor, R. Hofmeyr, A. Torborg, C. van Tonder, R. Boden, E. Earle, M. Nejthardt, K.F. Kabambi, M. Isaacs, A. Usenbo, C. Gerber, K. van der Spuy, B. Mrara, T. Ndhlovu, A. Chen, J. Swanevelder, J. Coetzee, B.M. Biccard
Southern African Journal of Anaesthesia and Analgesia | Vol 26, No 3 | a918 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.36303/SAJAA.2020.26.3.2428 | © 2020 Copyright Status: Not provided. Contact Holding Institution to verify copyright status. Rights Holder: South African Society of Anaesthesiologists
Submitted: 11 November 2025 | Published: 30 June 2020

About the author(s)

E.H. Taylor, Nuffield Department of Surgical Sciences, University of Oxford, United Kingdom
R. Hofmeyr, Department of Anaesthesia and Perioperative Medicine, Groote Schuur Hospital, University of Cape Town, South Africa
A. Torborg, Department of Anaesthesia, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa; and, African Perioperative Outcomes Group, South Africa
C. van Tonder, Department of Anaesthesia, Khayelitsha District Hospital, South Africa
R. Boden, University of Cape Town, South Africa
E. Earle, Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, Universitas Academic Hospital, University of the Free State, South Africa
M. Nejthardt, Department of Anaesthesia and Perioperative Medicine, Groote Schuur Hospital, University of Cape Town, South Africa
K.F. Kabambi, Department of Anaesthesia, Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital, Walter Sisulu University, South Africa
M. Isaacs, Department of Anaesthesia and Perioperative Medicine, Groote Schuur Hospital, University of Cape Town, South Africa
A. Usenbo, Department of Anaesthesia, Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital, Walter Sisulu University, South Africa
C. Gerber, Department of Anaesthesia and Perioperative Medicine, Groote Schuur Hospital, University of Cape Town, South Africa
K. van der Spuy, Department of Anaesthesia and Perioperative Medicine, Groote Schuur Hospital, University of Cape Town, South Africa
B. Mrara, Department of Anaesthesia, Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital, Walter Sisulu University, South Africa
T. Ndhlovu, Department of Anaesthesia, Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital, Walter Sisulu University, South Africa
A. Chen, Department of Anaesthesia and Perioperative Medicine, Groote Schuur Hospital, University of Cape Town, South Africa
J. Swanevelder, Department of Anaesthesia and Perioperative Medicine, Groote Schuur Hospital, University of Cape Town, South Africa
J. Coetzee, Department of Anaesthesiology, Critical Care, Stellenbosch University, South Africa; and, Tygerberg Hospital, South Africa
B.M. Biccard, Department of Anaesthesia and Perioperative Medicine, Groote Schuur Hospital, University of Cape Town, South Africa

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Abstract

Background: Patients with confirmed COVID-19 admitted to intensive care units have a high mortality rate, which appears to be associated with increasing age, male sex, smoking history, hypertension and diabetes mellitus.
Methods: A systematic review to determine risk factors and interventions associated with mortality/survival in adult patients admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU) with confirmed COVID-19/SARS-CoV-2 infection. The protocol was registered with PROSPERO (CRD42020181185).
Results: The search identified 483 abstracts between 1 January and 7 April 2020, of which nine studies were included in the final review. Only one study was of low bias. Advanced age (odds ratio [OR] 11.99, 95% confidence interval [CI] 5.35–18.62) and a history of hypertension were associated with mortality (OR 4.17, 95% CI 2.90–5.99). Sex was not associated with mortality. There was insufficient data to assess the association between other comorbidities, laboratory results or critical care risk indices and mortality. The critical care interventions of mechanical ventilation (OR 6.25, 95% CI 0.75–51.93), prone positioning during ventilation (OR 2.06, 95% CI 0.20–21.72), and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) (OR 8.00, 95% CI 0.69, 92.33) were not associated with mortality. The sample size was insufficient to conclusively determine the association between these interventions and ICU mortality. The need for inotropes or vasopressors was associated with mortality (OR 6.36, 95% CI 1.89–21.36).
Conclusion: The studies provided little granular data to inform risk stratification or prognostication of patients requiring intensive care admission. Larger collaborative research is needed to address this limitation.

Keywords

COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; critical care; outcomes; mortality; risk factors

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