Respiratory failure & ventilation
Association between regional critical care capacity and the incidence of invasive mechanical ventilation for coronavirus disease 2019: a population-based cohort study
Authors' conclusion
The results of prefecture-level analyses demonstrate that increased numbers of ICU beds, resource-rich ICU beds, and intensivists are associated with the incidence of invasive mechanical ventilation among patients recently diagnosed with COVID-19 during the pandemic.
Study context
- Population
- Patients recently diagnosed with COVID-19 in Japan's 47 prefectures, February 2020 to March 202347 prefectures
- Participants
- 33,189,809 participants
- Exposure
- Regional critical care capacity (intensive care unit (ICU) beds, HDU beds, resource-rich ICU beds, intensivists per 100,000) and incidence of invasive mechanical ventilation
- Outcome
- Incidence of invasive mechanical ventilation
Methodological detailsprefecture-level linear regression
- Prefecture-level linear regression
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
ICU beds: increase in incidence of IMV
5.37
95% CI 1.99–8.76
Resource-rich ICU beds: increase in incidence of IMV
7.27
95% CI 1.61–12.9
Intensivists: increase in incidence of IMV
13.12
95% CI 3.48–22.76
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
Incidence of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) and risk-adjusted mortality
- None of the four capacity indicators statistically significantly associated with incidence of ECMO or risk-adjusted mortality
Patients on invasive mechanical ventilation and ECMO
- COVID-19 patients on invasive mechanical ventilation
- 12,203
- COVID-19 patients on ECMO
- 1,426
Original publication
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →