Impact of Vaccines on Mortality in Patients Treated in The Intensive Care Unit Due To COVID-19: A Multicenter Study

Abstract

Introduction: The importance of vaccines is increasing day by day because the COVID-19 pandemic has been going on for about two years and there is no effective antiviral treatment. The purpose of this study was to compare the impact of vaccination status on the mortality of patients monitored in the intensive care unit with the diagnosis of COVID-19. Methods: Three hundred and forty-four patients treated in intensive care due to COVID-19 in three hospitals in Gaziantep were included in the study. Demographic characteristics and pre-COVID-19 vaccination status of all patients were recorded, and the diagnosis of COVID-19 was made with nasopharyngeal polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test and Thorax Computed Tomography (CT). Results: Of the patients, 172 (50%) were male, 172 (50%) were female, 152 (44%) were unvaccinated and 192 (55%) were vaccinated. The number of male patients (n=106) (55.2%) in the vaccinated group was significantly higher than female patients (n=86) (44.8%) (p<0.05). Although the vaccination rate was higher in patients over 65 years of age, intubation status, mortality rate, number of hospitalisation days, urea and creatinine values were significantly higher and haemoglobin and white blood cell values were lower in younger and middle age groups (p<0.05). The age and intubation rate of patients who died due to Covid 19 were significantly higher than those who were discharged (p<0.001). The vaccination rate of young patients (28.3%) was significantly lower than that of middle-aged (47.3%) and over-65 (65.9%) patients (p<0.05). Among all vaccinated individuals, death was encountered in 57 (76.0%) of CoronaVac vaccinated and 18 (24.0%) of BioNTech vaccinated patients; the difference was statistically higher (p<0.05). The mortality rate of vaccinated patients over 65 years old was 61 (60.4%), while the mortality rate of unvaccinated patients was 40 (39.6%) and the difference was not statistically significant (p>0.05). Conclusion: The majority of the patients monitored in the intensive care unit with the diagnosis of COVID-19 were vaccinated, and over the age of 65, and the mortality was high. However, vaccination, hospitalization in the intensive care unit, and mortality rates were low in the younger age group. In patients over 65 years of age, the mortality-reducing effect of the vaccine is low. Advanced age and comorbidity reduce the efficacy of the vaccine. In all patients, the BioNTech vaccine reduces the death rate more than the CoronaVac vaccine.

Keywords

• Covid-19 vaccines
• Intensive Care Unit
• Efficacy
• Mortality

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