A systematic review and meta-analysis of inpatient mortality associated with nosocomial and community COVID-19 exposes the vulnerability of immunosuppressed adults

Abstract

Background: Little is known about the mortality of hospital-acquired (nosocomial) COVID-19 infection globally. We investigated the risk of mortality and critical care admission in hospitalised adults with nosocomial COVID-19, relative to adults requiring hospitalisation due to community-acquired infection. Methods: We systematically reviewed the peer-reviewed and pre-print literature from 1/1/2020 to 9/2/2021 without language restriction for studies reporting outcomes of nosocomial and community-acquired COVID-19. We performed a random effects meta-analysis (MA) to estimate the 1) relative risk of death and 2) critical care admission, stratifying studies by patient cohort characteristics and nosocomial case definition. Results: 21 studies were included in the primary MA, describing 8,246 admissions across 8 countries during the first wave, comprising 1517 probable or definite nosocomial COVID-19, and 6729 community-acquired cases. Across all studies, the risk of mortality was 1.31 times greater in patients with nosocomial infection, compared to community-acquired (95% CI: 1.01 to 1.70). Rates of critical care admission were similar between groups (Relative Risk, RR=0.74, 95% CI: 0.50 to 1.08). Immunosuppressed patients diagnosed with nosocomial COVID-19 were twice as likely to die in hospital as those admitted with community-acquired infection (RR=2.14, 95% CI: 1.76 to 2.61). Conclusions: Adults who acquire SARS-CoV-2 whilst already hospitalised are at greater risk of mortality compared to patients admitted following community-acquired infection; this finding is largely driven by a substantially increased risk of death in individuals with malignancy or who had undergone transplantation. These findings inform public health and infection control policy, and argue for individualised clinical interventions to combat the threat of nosocomial COVID-19, particularly for immunosuppressed groups. Systematic review registration: PROSPERO CRD42021249023

COVID-19 clusters in Malaysia: characteristics, detection methods and modes of early transmission

“…25 Clusters in high-risk groups -which included those in health-care facilities, long-term care facilities and early childhood education and care settings 3 -had the highest case-fatality rate, at 2.8%. Other studies have shown that mortality was higher for residents in long-term care facilities 26,27 and for hospitalized patients 28 compared with other populations in the community. This is because comorbidities increase the risk of complications and death.…”