Article Text
Abstract
Purpose To evaluate the association between body mass index (BMI) and clinical outcomes other than death in patients hospitalised and intubated with COVID-19.
Methods This is a single-centre cohort study of adults with COVID-19 admitted to New York Presbyterian Hospital-Weill Cornell Medicine from 3 March 2020 through 15 May 2020. Baseline and outcome variables, as well as lab and ventilatory parameters, were generated for the admitted and intubated cohorts after stratifying by BMI category. Linear regression models were used for continuous, and logistic regression models were used for categorical outcomes.
Results The study included 1337 admitted patients with a subset of 407 intubated patients. Among admitted patients, hospital length of stay (LOS) and home discharge was not significantly different across BMI categories independent of demographic characteristics and comorbidities. In the intubated cohort, there was no difference in in-hospital events and treatments, including renal replacement therapy, neuromuscular blockade and prone positioning. Ventilatory ratio was higher with increasing BMI on days 1, 3 and 7. There was no significant difference in ventilator free days (VFD) at 28 or 60 days, need for tracheostomy, hospital LOS, and discharge disposition based on BMI in the intubated cohort after adjustment.
Conclusions In our COVID-19 population, there was no association between obesity and morbidity outcomes, such as hospital LOS, home discharge or VFD. Further research is needed to clarify the mechanisms underlying the reported effects of BMI on outcomes, which may be population dependent.
- COVID-19
- ARDS
Data availability statement
Data are available upon reasonable request.
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Footnotes
Contributors MP had full access to all the data in the study and takes responsibility for the integrity of the data, the accuracy of the data analysis and the content of the manuscript. MP, DP, PG, MMS and EJS contributed substantially to the study design, data interpretation, and the writing of the manuscript. KH and JMKC contributed substantially to the study design and data analysis and interpretation. HH contributed substantially to data acquisition, analysis and interpretation and manuscript preparation.
Funding This work was supported by the Weill Cornell DOM Pre Career Award (to MP).
Competing interests No conflicts exist for MP, DP, KLH, JMKC, HH and EJS. Dr. Goyal has received personal fees for medicolegal consulting on heart failure. Dr Safford receives salary support from Amgen for investigator-initiated research.
Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.
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