Assessing the impact of the Gamma variant on COVID-19 Patient admissions in a Southern Brazilian tertiary hospital - A comparison of dual pandemic phases

Abstract

Since the first case of COVID-19, Brazil has undergone infection waves with distinct characteristics. The description of new variants has alerted the emergence of more contagious or virulent viruses. The variant of concern Gamma emerged in Brazil and caused an epidemic wave, but its spread outside the country was limited. We report the clinical epidemiological profile of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 by comparing two periods. A retrospective cohort study was performed. The primary outcome was to assess individuals with COVID-19 admitted in wards and intensive care units at CHC-UFPR between March 2020 and July 2021, correlating demographic, clinical-epidemiologic, and survival data with the most prevalent viral variant found in each period. We used Kaplan?Meier analysis to estimate the probability of survival and receiver operating characteristic curves to evaluate laboratory tests to find a cutoff point for poor outcomes. Data from 2,887 individuals were analyzed, 1,495 and 1,392 from the first and second periods, respectively. Hospitalization predominated among males in both periods, and the median age was significantly lower in the second one. The frequency of comorbidities was similar. Various demographic factors, clinical assessments, and laboratory tests were examined in relation to greater severity. When comparing the two studied periods, we observed predominance of the Wild virus during the first wave and the Gamma variant during the second, with no significant difference in outcomes. The findings suggest that despite the association of many factors with increased severity, the temporal variation between the two periods did not result in a notable divergence in the measured outcomes. The COVID-19 pandemic has lasted for a long time, with periods marked by peaks of cases, often caused by the emergence of viral variants, resulting in higher infection rates and rapid dissemination but, for variant Gamma, no apparent greater virulence.