As of December 15, 2020, a total of 70,476,836 confirmed cases of coronavirus disease
2019 (COVID-19) had been reported to the World Health Organization, along with 1,599,922
deaths [1]. The demand for hospital and intensive care unit (ICU) beds and resources
to care for COVID-19 patients has been significant worldwide. The aim of the present
report is to describe the case fatality ratio (CFR) of COVID-19 patients requiring
invasive mechanical ventilation in Mexico.
This report analyses of an anonymized patient dataset that is publicly available and
accessible to anyone through the Mexican Health Ministry and that was released on
December 15, 2020 [2]. All patients with laboratory-confirmed severe acute respiratory
syndrome coronavirus 2 infection according to positive reverse transcriptase-polymerase
chain reaction approved by adjudication committees or epidemiological associations
were included.
The CFR for COVID-19 was calculated as the total number of deaths due to COVID-19
divided by the number of total confirmed COVID-19 cases as of December 15, 2020, multiplied
by 100 [3]. A total of 12,018 mechanically ventilated adults with COVID-19 from a
previous report were included in the present analysis [4].
Between February 28 and December 15, 2020, a total of 1,267,202 confirmed cases of
COVID-19 were reported in Mexico. The sociodemographic characteristics and comorbidities
of all patients with COVID-19 in Mexico are shown in Table 1. A total of 115,099 deaths
occurred, for an overall CFR of 9.1%. A total of 15.3% (39,848/260,859) of hospitalized
patients required invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV), and 70.8% (28,209/39,848)
of those patients received IMV outside the ICU (Table 1). Overall, the CRF was higher
in patients mechanically ventilated in the ward (outside the ICU) (23,823 [84.5%]
of 28,209) than in those admitted to the ICU (8433 [72.5%] of 11,639, p < 0.001).
Figure 1 shows the epidemiological curve of the invasively ventilated patients with
confirmed cases of COVID-19 (survivor and nonsurvivors) plotted by hospital admission
date.
Table 1
Patients, deaths, and case fatality ratio for the 1,267,202 confirmed COVID-19 patients
in Mexico as of December 15, 2020
Baseline characteristics
Confirmed cases, N (%)
Deaths, N (%)
Case fatality ratio, %
Overall
1,267,202
115,099
9.1
Age, years
0–20
69,976 (5.5)
519 (0.5)
0.74
21–40
506,113 (39.9)
6651 (5.7)
1.31
41–50
262,871 (20.7)
13,963 (12.1)
5.3
51–60
210,113 (16.6)
25,948 (22.5)
12.3
61–70
126,797 (10.0)
32,154 (27.9)
25.4
71–80
64,912 (5.1)
24,214 (21.0)
37.3
81–90
23,217 (1.8)
10,313 (8.9)
44.4
> 90
3203 (0.3)
1337 (1.16)
41.7
Sex
Female
626,096 (49.4)
42,011(36.5)
6.7
Male
641,106 (50.6)
73,088 (63.5)
11.4
Comorbidities
Hypertension
231,328 (18.2)
52,593 (45.6)
22.7
Obesity
205,652 (16.2)
27,089 (23.5)
13.2
Diabetes
180,165 (14.2)
44,367 (38.6)
24.6
Cardiovascular disease
22,343 (1.8)
6141 (5.3)
27.5
Chronic kidney disease
21,363 (1.7)
8445 (7.3)
39.5
Chronic obstructive lung disease
15,945 (1.3)
5460 (4.7)
34.2
Immunosuppression
12,180 (0.9)
2792 (2.4)
22.9
Medical treatment in the public healthcare system
1,231,245 (97.2)
113,311 (98.4)
9.2
Medical treatment in the private healthcare system
35,957 (2.8)
1788 (1.6)
5.1
Outpatients
1,006,343 (79.4)
12,111 (10.5)
1.2
Inpatients
260,859 (20.6)
102,988 (89.5)
39.5
Patients requiring intubation and mechanical ventilation
39,848 (15.3)
32,256 (31.2)
80.9
In the intensive care unit
11,639 (29.2)
8433 (26.1)
72.5
Outside of the intensive care unit
28,209 (70.8)
23,823 (73.9)
84.5
Patients who were not intubated but receiving oxygen therapy
221,011 (84.7)
70,732 (68.7)
32.0
Fig. 1
Epidemiological curve of the invasively ventilated patients with confirmed cases of
COVID-19 (survivor and nonsurvivors) plotted by hospital admission date
CRF was highest in patients needing intubation and IMV, especially in a setting outside
the ICU. The CFR of COVID-19 patients requiring IMV varies greatly between countries;
Mexico´s CFR for COVID-19 patients requiring IMV is higher than Brazil´s (80.9% [95%
confidence interval, 80.0–81.8] versus 79.7% [95% confidence interval, 78.9–80.5],
p = 0.0497) [5]. The COVID-19 pandemic is placing unprecedented demands on Mexico’s
entire health care system. Over the past 10 months, the number of ICU beds or "beds
with ventilators" in Mexico has increased from 2446 to 11,634 [6]. Mexican health
authorities have stated that the response to the pandemic has been satisfactory because
sufficient number of "beds with ventilators" are available [4]. However, having open
"beds with ventilators" in hospital wards does not mean that hospitals are equipped
to handle more critically ill COVID-19 patients, which can cause a worsening of the
quality of care (CFR can rise). Healthcare systems should be concerned about having
sufficient qualified personnel and equipment in hospital wards, which has been one
of the main problems worldwide during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the treatment
of patients in the ICU has improved in recent years, the standard of care for critically
ill COVID-19 patients outside of the ICU is controversial. Daily ward rounds are usually
led by an intensivist or critical care nurse (she or he) to explore the critical events
for each patient,
possible solutions, and prioritization of treatment. This approach can contribute
to improved care and decreased CFR in a setting outside of the ICU.
Finally, although this study used nationwide data, administrative data are a source
of information regarding real world clinical practices across geographic regions and
health systems during the COVID-19 pandemic.