New Study Finds In-Hospital Mortality On Downward Trajectory

A new large cohort study published in JAMA Network Open found that U.S. hospital mortality has resumed its prepandemic downward trajectory. CIDRAP has the news.

The resumption of the trend comes despite patients “presenting with more severe illness than before COVID-19,” suggesting that “the severity of illness has a new, higher baseline.” In-hospital mortality “declined significantly after late 2021…while the severity of illness rose during the pandemic and remained elevated. Standardized mortality ratios followed a linear decline across the study period.”

An accompanying commentary suggests that “resilience today shouldn’t be mistaken for an ability to handle major crises in the future,” however. Shifts in vaccine programs and funding reallocations in the U.S. “could predispose the system to additional future shocks on a micro or macro level.” Plus, “30% to 40% of critical-care practitioners experienced burnout, depression, and/or anxiety during the pandemic, leading to an exodus” of workers.

The commentary also notes the study’s limitations, such as “not considering regional COVID burden or vaccine uptake and not including hospitals that didn’t continuously report death rates, which may have biased results toward hospitals with greater resources or stronger reporting infrastructures.”