25 May 2021 - Faculty Communications
A new multi-country cohort study provides insight into the mortality rate of patients severely-ill with Covid-19 in Africa, and the prognosis is not good.
The Covid-19 pandemic has challenged countries worldwide and has highlighted the flaws of many healthcare systems that are suddenly overburdened, particularly as countries are faced with peaking transmission rates.
Africa currently has the highest death rate of adults who become critically ill after contracting Covid-19.
Data from a multicentre cohort study
published in The Lanceton 21 May 2021 indicate how a lack of intensive care facilities and critical resources has contributed to a continental Covid-19 mortality rate of 48%, almost 20% higher than the global average.
May 24, 2021
Death rates among adults in the 30 days after being admitted to critical care with suspected or confirmed Covid-19 infection appear considerably higher in Africa than globally.
This is according to a prospective observational study from 64 hospitals in 10 African countries published in The Lancet. Based on 3 140 adults between May and December 2020, it found that the death rates of the said patients appear considerably higher in Africa with an average 48,2% patients than a global average of 31,5% patients.
A critical factor in these excess deaths may be a lack of intensive care resources and underuse of those available, say the researchers, who are all based in Africa. For example, half of patients died without being given oxygen, and while 68% of hospitals had access to renal dialysis, only 10% of severely ill patients received it.
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The African Covid-19 Critical Care Outcomes Study (ACCCOS) was based on data from participants admitted to 13 South African hospitals among others in Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Libya, Malawi, Mozambique, Niger and Nigeria.
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