Despite the bleak news of exponentially rising cases and the looming possibility of further shutdowns, there is at least one glimmer of hope in New Jersey: mortality rates have gone way down.
According to the NJ Hospital Association, the mortality rate of patients hospitalized with coronavirus in New Jersey dropped from 25.3% in the early days of the pandemic (April) to 6% in August. That number is likely even lower now due to constantly improving interventions and therapeutics.
The use of ventilators and intubation also dropped. 20.8% of hospitalized patient were placed on ventilators in April, as well as 15.7% requiring intubation. Those numbers dropped to 15.7% and 3.9% respectively.
Additionally, the average hospital stay fell from 9.2 days to 5.9 days.
“I find reassurance in these findings as New Jersey hospitals hone their treatment and response to this novel virus,” said NJHA President and CEO Cathy Bennett. “They continue to write the playbook for COVID-19 treatments, and we’re seeing the results in decreased mortality among hospitalized patients, fewer patients requiring ventilators and shorter hospital stays.
“However – and I can’t say this strongly enough – New Jersey faces a difficult pandemic winter, and we cannot relax the precautions we all must take against this virus.”
The analysis also showed the comorbidity that most had the most significant adverse effect on Covid-19 outcomes was kidney disease. People with kidney disease represented 74.6% of coronavirus deaths between April and August. Patients with hypertension (high blood pressure) and diabetes are also at extreme risk of severe complications.
Important to note that the average age of the hospitalized patient in April was much higher than the current age of hospitalized patients. That could be a big part of this trend
Makes no sense, people who are ventilated are by definition intubated, that’s the only way to ventilate someone, with a tube down their throat….
Beyond the therapeutics that are being utilized now,
The 2 BIG DIFFERENCES are;
1. They are not ventilating patients for the sake of not exposing the [Hero] healthcare workers.
2. They are not wiping out nursing home populations [by mandating Infected patients be brought back to Nursing homes-Yes NJ was also in that infamous protocol].
I have heard that the reason there are fewer ventilations is that doctors have found that 80% of those ventilated with COVID do not survive. They have found that intubation keeps the heavy lung secretions caused by the virus in the lungs.
They now keep patients on their bellies to aid lung drainage and they have therapeutics such as Remdesivir.
Back in the spring, the medical community did not have any experience with this virus. They have learned and their techniques are better.
Murders are down too. That’s the key factor here