Determinants of the Time of Occurrence of Deaths During Covid-19 in Togo: A Report on 67 Cases

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in millions of deaths around the world with a heavy impact on social and health systems. The objective of this study was to analyze not only the profile of cases of deaths that have occurred since the advent of the pandemic in Togo, but also the determinants of their time of occurrence. Method: This was a cross-sectional study in which the Lome-Commune Regional Hospital, a COVID-19 care center, served as the framework for our study. The study population consisted of all patients admitted for COVID-19 confirmed by a positive PCR test for SARS-COV-2, aged 18 years and over and who died during their hospital stay. Results: Sixty-seven patients were included. Males were most represented in 62.7% of cases. Almost six out of 10 patients were over 50 years old. The two main comorbidities found in the patients were hypertension (44.8%) and diabetes (28.4%). The majority of patients had the severe form of COVID-19 in 46.3% of cases. Slightly less than half of the patients (49.3%) died within five days of admission. Degree of glycemia elevation (p<0.01), AST elevation (p = 0.012), and ALT elevation (p<0.01) levels were statistically associated with time of occurrence of deaths. Conclusion: Glycemia and liver enzyme disturbances (AST and ALT) can be used as prognostic predictors in the sorting of patients admitted to hospital for COVID-19 and thus plan the implementation of adequate therapies to safeguard their vital prognosis.