ANALYSIS OF SURVIVAL OF PATIENTS WITH COVID-19 IN A REFERENCE HOSPITAL IN ALTO SERTÃO DA PARAÍBA

The COVID-19 pandemic has become an international public health problem, given the consequences generated in the context of Public Health, such as increased rates of morbidity and mortality, among others. The study aims to evaluate the survival of patients with COVID-19 and identify the impact of risk factors and comorbidities associated with the mortality of hospitalized patients in Alto Sertão Paraibano. This is an exploratory, descriptive and analytical study, using secondary data from the Epidemiological Surveillance Information System (SIVEP) through OpenDataSUS, from March 2020 to August 2021. Data analysis involved exploratory data analysis techniques and survival analysis using the Cox model, seeking to identify variables that best explain the "death" outcome. The results showed the characterization of patients hospitalized during the period under study in a referral hospital in the Alto Sertão of Paraíba and indicated that pacients who had access to invasive mecanical ventilation and intensive care had lower mortality rates in 2021, compared to 2020. Through study modeling, we identified that the only covariate that was significant at the α = 0.05 level for the data available for the years 2020 and 2021 was categorized age. In addition, considering that vaccination was still incipient in the period, the estimated Cox survival models indicated that the average survival rate in 2020 was 23 days for 50% of hospitalized patients and increased to 31 days in 2021, indicating that there was a positive evolution in hospital response capacity and clinical management throughout the pandemic. Based on the results, the study highlighted the importance of the quality of hospital care as crucial factors for the survival of patients with COVID-19 in Alto Sertão of Paraíba.