LAUSR

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) emerged in mid-December 2019 and rapidly spread worldwide. In order to construct a simple risk prediction score for implementation in prehospital settings, we conducted a retrospective analysis of data from patients with COVID-19. Patients were classified into critical and non-critical groups based on disease severity during hospitalization. Multivariate analysis was performed to identify independent risk factors and develop a risk prediction score. In total, 234 patients were included in this study. The median age of the critical group was significantly older than that of the non-critical group (68.0 and 44.0 years), and the percentage of males was higher in the critical group than in the non-critical group (90.2% and 60.6%). Multivariate analysis revealed that age ≥ 45 years, male sex, hypertension, and cancer, along with fever and dyspnea on admission, were independently associated with the critical group. No critical events were noted in the patients with total risk factors ≤ 2. In contrast, the patients with total risk factors ≥ 4 were highly related to the critical group. This risk prediction score may be useful to identify critical COVID-19.