Mortality rate for coronavirus patients put in intensive care is close to 50%, shock report reveals

Mortality rate for coronavirus patients put in intensive care is close to 50%, shock report reveals

  • Data shows 79 out of 165 people who entered intensive care have died 
  • The report also reveals men are more at risk to the deadly virus than women 
  • It raises questions about the effectiveness of the treatment in intensive care 
  • Coronavirus symptoms: what are they and should you see a doctor?

The mortality rate for coronavirus patients in intensive care is as high as nearly 50 per cent, raising fears about the effectiveness of the treatment.

Of the 165 people treated in critical care in England, wales and Northern Ireland since the end of February, 79 died and 86 were discharged, date from the Intensive Care National Audit and Research Centre (ICNARC) shows.

A further 610 have been admitted to intensive care and were included in the data but they remain in hospital in the intensive care wards, The Guardian has reported.

The mortality rate for coronavirus patients in intensive care is as high as nearly 50 per cent

Britain's coronavirus death toll rocketed by 260 to 1,019 today as the UK suffers its worst day yet and sees a huge spike in victims

Britain’s coronavirus death toll rocketed by 260 to 1,019 today as the UK suffers its worst day yet and sees a huge spike in victims

The shocking mortality rate is leading many to question the effectiveness of critical care in treating coronavirus patients.

The NHS is rapidly opening field hospitals in London, Manchester and Birmingham which will contain some of the largest intensive care units the country has seen.

The report also found that nine of the 79 people who died during their study were aged 16 to 49, while the majority were over 70.

A medic can be seen attending to the occupants of a car at a coronavirus drive-through testing station in Chessington

A medic can be seen attending to the occupants of a car at a coronavirus drive-through testing station in Chessington

A doctor revealed: ‘The truth is that quite a lot of these individuals [in critical care] are going to die anyway and there is a fear that we are just ventilating them for the sake of it, for the sake of doing something for them, even though it won’t be effective. That’s a worry.’

The data also suggested men were more at risk from the virus, with as many as seven out of ten patients in intensive care being male.

Another indicator was obesity, with 70 per cent of patients overweight on the BMI scale.  

The age spread also varies according to gender, with 30 per cent of men in intensive care aged under 60, compared to 15 per cent of women.

The news comes as Governmental advisers warn that even stricter social distancing measures could be under way if the staggering increase in figures doesn't stop

The news comes as Governmental advisers warn that even stricter social distancing measures could be under way if the staggering increase in figures doesn’t stop

A Tory MP and former health minister who works in the NHS said health service staff who had not displayed any coronavirus symptoms but may still be infected due to their proximity to patients should be among those tested.

Dan Poulter, who works as a psychiatrist, says widespread testing for the NHS would be a ‘game-changer’.

Michael Gove said extra testing would be carried out on NHS staff from this weekend but it would initially be targeting key workers who are self-isolating.

It comes as Britain’s coronavirus death toll rocketed by 260 to 1,019 on Saturday as the UK suffered its worst day yet and saw a huge spike in victims. 

Across the country a total of 120,776 coronavirus tests have taken place, and a whopping 17,089 have come back positive for Covid-19. 

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