A number of risk factors for the death of Covid patients

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Hypertension is the most commonly reported comorbid disease in the death of COVID-19 patients in Jakarta. This result is known from a study conducted by the Faculty of Medicine, University of Indonesia (FKUI) together with a team from the DKI Jakarta Health Office.

The research data was taken from all COVID-19 patients in the DKI Jakarta area who were collected from health centers to hospitals. Then the data is analyzed and it is known that there are a number of comorbidities that have caused the worsening and death of COVID-19 patients.

A number of comorbids and risk factors for death in COVID-19 patients

Study entitled Factors Associated with Death in COVID-19 Patients in Jakarta, Indonesia: An Epidemiological Study it retrieves data from March 2, 2020 to April 27, 2020.

Of the total 4,052 patients infected with COVID-19, 381 died or 9.4%.

Of all the comorbidities, hypertension was stated as the most common disease among patients who died from COVID-19, namely 18.3%. Followed then by diabetes 11.1%, heart disease, 11.1%, and chronic lung disease 5.6%.

In addition to comorbidities, researchers note that old age is one of the factors associated with worsening symptoms to death when infected with COVID-19.

The mean age of the patients who experienced death in this study was 45.8 years. The majority came from the age group 50-69 years, namely 37.6% and 20-49 years, namely 51.2%.

"In this study, we provide evidence to show that among laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases in Jakarta, the likelihood of death is greater if the patient is older, has dyspnea, pneumonia, and has pre-existing hypertensive comorbidities," wrote the researcher.

The DKI Jakarta Health Office and FKUI conducted a study using epidemiological tracing recapitulation (PE) data issued by the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government. Doctors or nurses treating patients who are suspected of being infected with COVID-19 are required to fill out the PE form.

The PE form consists of questions relating to the demographic characteristics of the patient and clinical information.

Researchers also noted the symptoms that arose in patients requiring hospitalization. Cough and fever were the highest symptomatic complaints, besides 41.1% of patients had pneumonia symptoms. The proportion of patients with all three symptoms was also high among those who died.

COVID-19 Outbreak updates Country: IndonesiaData

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Confirmed

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Complementary diseases and worsening of COVID-19 symptoms

The severity of COVID-19 is widely reported to be influenced by age, sex, and underlying comorbidities.

This study on the COVID-19 death case in Jakarta confirms hypertension as a comorbid disease associated with the severity of COVID-19 symptoms reported in several previous studies.

Previous studies have also reported that hypertension is the most common underlying disease of COVID-19 patients, especially in fatal cases.

Since March, researchers in Wuhan have linked hypertension to the severity of symptoms experienced by COVID-19 patients. Doctors working at the hospital in Wuhan looked at 170 patients who died during January in Wuhan, nearly half of whom had hypertension.

"The hypertension ratio is very high," said Du Bin, director of the ER at Union Medical College Hospital, quoted from the Japan Times. Du Bin was among a team of top doctors sent to the devastated city two months ago to help treat patients there.

"From what I know from other doctors and data, I can see that among all comorbid diseases, hypertension is the main dangerous factor," said Du.

As the outbreak accelerates to spread to nearly every continent in the world, research on COVID-19 is also growing. Includes research into the relationship between comorbidities and symptom severity or COVID-19 death.

According to Du Bin, this fact is important to know in order to understand the course of the disease and identify individuals at high risk so that it is useful in optimizing treatment.