Analysis of the clinical characteristics of 77 COVID-19 deaths

The COVID-19 outbreak is becoming a public health emergency. Data are limited on the clinical characteristics and causes of death. A retrospective analysis of COVID-19 deaths were performed for patients’ clinical characteristics, laboratory results, and causes of death. In total, 56 patients (72.7%) of the decedents (male–female ratio 51:26, mean age 71 ± 13, mean survival time 17.4 ± 8.4 days) had comorbidities. Acute respiratory failure (ARF) and sepsis were the main causes of death. Increases in C-reactive protein (CRP), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), D-dimer and lactic acid and decreases in lymphocytes were common laboratory results. Intergroup analysis showed that (1) most female decedents had cough and diabetes. (2) The proportion of young- and middle-aged deaths was higher than elderly deaths for males, while elderly decedents were more prone to myocardial injury and elevated CRP. (3) CRP and LDH increased and cluster of differentiation (CD) 4+ and CD8+ cells decreased significantly in patients with hypertension. The majority of COVID-19 decedents are male, especially elderly people with comorbidities. The main causes of death are ARF and sepsis. Most female decedents have cough and diabetes. Myocardial injury is common in elderly decedents. Patients with hypertension are prone to an increased inflammatory index, tissue hypoxia and cellular immune injury.