Characteristics and Factors Associated with Mortality of 200 COVID-19 Patients at a Philippine COVID-19 Tertiary Referral Center Maria Sonia S. Salamat, MD*, Anna Flor G. Malundo, MD*, Cybele Lara R. Abad, MD*, Joanne Carmela M. Sandejas, MD, Jose Eladio G. Planta, MD, Jonnel B. Poblete, MD, Johanna Patricia A. Cañal, MD, Julian A. Santos, MD and Marissa M. Alejandria, MD Philippine General Hospital, University of the Philippines Manila ABSTRACT Objectves. To describe the clinical profle and factors associated with mortality among the frst 200 patents confrmed to have COVID-19 infecton admited in the University of the Philippines – Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH). Methodology. We conducted a review of adult patents with confrmed COVID-19 infecton admited to the UP- PGH, a designated COVID-19 referral center. Demographic, clinical data and clinical outcomes were extracted from medical records. Frequencies and distributons of various clinical characteristcs were described, and factors associated with mortality were investgated. Results. Of the 200 patents in our cohort, most were male (55.5%), and the median age was 56 years old. Underlying comorbid illnesses were present in 67.5% of patents, which included hypertension (49.5%), diabetes mellitus (26.5%), and other cardiovascular diseases (20.5%). The most frequent presentng symptoms were cough (69.0%), fever (58.5%), or shortness of breath (53.0%). Most patents presented with mild (n=41, 20.5%) to moderate illness (n=99, 49.5%) and only 60 were considered severely (n=32, 16.0%) or critcally ill (n=28, 14.0%). Many (61%) received empiric antbiotcs, while 44.5% received either repurposed drugs or investgatonal therapies for COVID-19. Bacterial co-infecton was documented in 11%, with Klebsiella pneumoniae commonly isolated. In-hospital mortality was 17.5%, which was highest for critcal COVID-19 (71.4%). Mortality was observed to be higher among patents aged 60 and above, requiring oxygen, ventlatory support, and ICU admission, and those who developed acute kidney injury, acute stroke, sepsis, and nosocomial pneumonia. Conclusion. Our study confrmed that COVID-19 afects older individuals and those with underlying comorbid conditons. Empiric antmicrobial treatment was given for most patents, despite documentaton of bacterial infecton in only 11%. K. pneumoniae was commonly isolated, refectng local epidemiology. The mortality rate during this early period of the pandemic was high and comparable with other insttutons. Factors associated with mortality were related to critcal COVID-19 and were similar to other studies. Key Words: COVID-19, Philippines, epidemiology, mortality INTRODUCTION Te coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). It has resulted in a signifcant global pandemic afecting more than 92 million people worldwide with over 1,995,037 deaths based on a report published by the World Health Organization (WHO) on January 16, 2021. 1 In the Philippines, the frst case was reported on January 30, 2020, with local transmission documented on March 7, 2020. Te number of confrmed cases in the country has rapidly increased since then, and * These authors contributed equally to this work. Corresponding author: Maria Sonia S. Salamat, MD Philippine General Hospital University of the Philippines Manila Taf Avenue, Ermita, Manila 1000, Philippines Email: sonia.salamat@gmail.com VOL. 55 NO. 2 2021 173 ORIGINAL ARTICLE