An Analysis of Shortness of Breath and Survival of Covid-19 Patients: Retrospective Cohort Study from Tertiary Hospital in East Java Indonesia

Indonesia is one of the most affected countries in terms of the number of cases; however, Indonesia is not among the top 10 countries in terms of the number of deaths. Patients experiencing shortness of breath have a higher mortality rate than those without shortness of breath. This study aims to analyze the relationship between shortness of breath and the survival of COVID-19 patients over time. This study used a retrospective cohort design based on secondary data from the Medical Records of ‘‘Aisyiyah General Hospital, Ponorogo. The study included 894 COVID-19 patients hospitalized from March to December 2021. The dependent variables were patient status (Deceased or Alive) and Shortness of Breath. Potential confounders of the independent variables were smoking, hypertension, heart disease, lung disease, diabetes mellitus, kidney disease, chronic liver disease, oxygen saturation, anosmia, ARDS, acidosis, septic shock, coagulopathy, and convalescent plasma. Frequency and percentage are descriptive statistics expressed for each component. Survival rates were determined using the Kaplan-Meier method, and differences were assessed using the log-rank test. Hazard ratios with 95% CIs were used to describe the risk of mortality. The impact of factors on the survival rate of COVID-19 patients was examined using single and multiple Cox regression analyses. All statistical analyses were performed with Stata. The result survival analysis showed that there were 273 (32.2%) deaths, which occurred in 53.2% of those with shortness of breath (P < 0.001), 22 (2.6%) who smoked, 383 (45.1%) with heart disease (P < 0.001), 77 (9.1%) with kidney disease (P < 0.001), and 513 (60.4%) with abnormal oxygen saturation. Shortness of breath significantly impacted the survival of COVID-19 patients. COVID-19 patients with shortness of breath had a 1.987-fold greater risk of death than patients without shortness of breath. Shortness of breath significantly impacted the survival of COVID-19 patients.