Introduction
The novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV‑2),
which causes the infection called coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‑19)
according to the World Health Organization, is one of the highly
virulent β-coronaviruses that infects humans and causes acute
respiratory failure (ARF) due to pneumonia, with high mortality
rates1,2. In addition, SARS-CoV‑2 presents a major
challenge for healthcare systems across the world. This is mainly
because critically ill patients with ARF have to be monitored in an
intensive care unit (ICU) mainly under the support of invasive
mechanical ventilation (IMV) 2–4.
The diagnosis of COVID‑19 is based on a reverse transcriptase polymerase
chain reaction test5. To date, the treatment of
COVID‑19 is undefined, and the therapies are aimed at controlling
clinical manifestations and providing ventilator support. Notably, some
drugs with therapeutic potential are emerging in the medical
field6.
Although many researchers have investigated about
SARS-CoV‑2,1–4 it is still important to explore the
factors associated with mortality in patients with COVID‑19, including
the influence of sociodemographic conditions and the presence of chronic
diseases, lifestyle, and treatments. Therefore, this study aimed to
analyze the prevalence and factors related to mortality in patients with
severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) due to COVID-19 requiring IMV.
These data are important for adopting appropriate behavior in the
hospital environment.