Clinical Characteristics of Critically Ill Young Adult Patients

Abstract

As the novel coronavirus continues to affect over 200 countries, resulting in greater than 350,000 deaths to date, older age is known to confer increased risk for severe disease. However, younger patients may be affected by severe disease as well, and limited literature focuses on the characteristics of these patients. Within a cohort of the first 137 patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) of a tertiary care public hospital in the first month of the outbreak in New York City, we found a higher proportion of younger patients than previously reported. This case series describes baseline demographics, ICU course, and outcomes of 29 consecutive, critically ill patients under age 50 with known COVID-19.