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Clinical progression, disease severity, and mortality among adults hospitalized with COVID-19 caused by the Omicron and Delta SARS-CoV-2 variants : A population-based, matched cohort study

(2023) In PLoS ONE 18(4). p.1-15
Abstract

BACKGROUND: To compare the intrinsic virulence of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) omicron variant with the delta variant in hospitalized adults with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

METHODS: All adults hospitalized in the Capital Region of Copenhagen with a positive reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction test for SARS-CoV-2 and an available variant determination from 1 September 2021 to 11 February 2022. Data from health registries and patient files were used. Omicron and Delta patients were matched (1:1) by age, sex, comorbidities, and vaccination status. We calculated crude and adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs) for severe hypoxemia and mortality at 30 and 60 days.

RESULTS: 1,043... (More)

BACKGROUND: To compare the intrinsic virulence of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) omicron variant with the delta variant in hospitalized adults with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

METHODS: All adults hospitalized in the Capital Region of Copenhagen with a positive reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction test for SARS-CoV-2 and an available variant determination from 1 September 2021 to 11 February 2022. Data from health registries and patient files were used. Omicron and Delta patients were matched (1:1) by age, sex, comorbidities, and vaccination status. We calculated crude and adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs) for severe hypoxemia and mortality at 30 and 60 days.

RESULTS: 1,043 patients were included. Patients with Omicron were older, had more comorbidities, were frailer, and more often had three vaccine doses than those with Delta. Fewer patients with Omicron developed severe hypoxemia than those with Delta (aHR, 0.55; 95% confidence interval, 0.38-0.78). Omicron patients exhibited decreased aHR for 30-day mortality compared to Delta (aHR, 0.61; 0.39-0.95). Omicron patients who had received three vaccine doses had lower mortality compared to Delta patients who received three doses (aHR, 0.31;0.16-0.59), but not among those who received two or 0-1 doses (aHR, 0.86; 0.41-1.84 and 0.94; 0.49-1.81 respectively). Similar findings were observed for mortality at 60 days. Similar outcomes were obtained in the analyses of 316 individually matched patients.

CONCLUSIONS: Among adults hospitalized with COVID-19, those with Omicron had less severe hypoxemia and nearly 40% higher 30- and 60-day survival, as compared with those with Delta, mainly driven by a larger proportion of Omicron patients vaccinated with three doses of an mRNA vaccine.

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contributor
LU
author collaboration
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
keywords
Humans, Adult, SARS-CoV-2/genetics, COVID-19, Cohort Studies, Patient Acuity, Hypoxia, Disease Progression
in
PLoS ONE
volume
18
issue
4
article number
e0282806
pages
1 - 15
publisher
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
external identifiers
  • scopus:85158948700
  • pmid:37104488
ISSN
1932-6203
DOI
10.1371/journal.pone.0282806
language
English
LU publication?
no
additional info
Copyright: © 2023 COVID-19 Omicron Delta study group. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
id
fb21625e-0040-4788-9c29-1af403695986
date added to LUP
2024-10-14 09:21:19
date last changed
2025-07-23 03:17:10
@article{fb21625e-0040-4788-9c29-1af403695986,
  abstract     = {{<p>BACKGROUND: To compare the intrinsic virulence of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) omicron variant with the delta variant in hospitalized adults with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).</p><p>METHODS: All adults hospitalized in the Capital Region of Copenhagen with a positive reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction test for SARS-CoV-2 and an available variant determination from 1 September 2021 to 11 February 2022. Data from health registries and patient files were used. Omicron and Delta patients were matched (1:1) by age, sex, comorbidities, and vaccination status. We calculated crude and adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs) for severe hypoxemia and mortality at 30 and 60 days.</p><p>RESULTS: 1,043 patients were included. Patients with Omicron were older, had more comorbidities, were frailer, and more often had three vaccine doses than those with Delta. Fewer patients with Omicron developed severe hypoxemia than those with Delta (aHR, 0.55; 95% confidence interval, 0.38-0.78). Omicron patients exhibited decreased aHR for 30-day mortality compared to Delta (aHR, 0.61; 0.39-0.95). Omicron patients who had received three vaccine doses had lower mortality compared to Delta patients who received three doses (aHR, 0.31;0.16-0.59), but not among those who received two or 0-1 doses (aHR, 0.86; 0.41-1.84 and 0.94; 0.49-1.81 respectively). Similar findings were observed for mortality at 60 days. Similar outcomes were obtained in the analyses of 316 individually matched patients.</p><p>CONCLUSIONS: Among adults hospitalized with COVID-19, those with Omicron had less severe hypoxemia and nearly 40% higher 30- and 60-day survival, as compared with those with Delta, mainly driven by a larger proportion of Omicron patients vaccinated with three doses of an mRNA vaccine.</p>}},
  issn         = {{1932-6203}},
  keywords     = {{Humans; Adult; SARS-CoV-2/genetics; COVID-19; Cohort Studies; Patient Acuity; Hypoxia; Disease Progression}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{4}},
  pages        = {{1--15}},
  publisher    = {{Public Library of Science (PLoS)}},
  series       = {{PLoS ONE}},
  title        = {{Clinical progression, disease severity, and mortality among adults hospitalized with COVID-19 caused by the Omicron and Delta SARS-CoV-2 variants : A population-based, matched cohort study}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0282806}},
  doi          = {{10.1371/journal.pone.0282806}},
  volume       = {{18}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}