A study published yesterday, in The Lancet medical journal, offered reasons why Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Libya, Malawi, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria and South Africa have higher death rate among critically ill COVID-19 patients than any other regions of the world.
According to the observational survey from 64 hospitals in 10 African countries, death rates among adults in the 30 days after being admitted to critical care with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 infections appeared considerably higher in Africa (average 48.2 per cent; 1,483/3,077 patients) than the global (average of 31.5 per cent; from a meta-analysis of 34,859 patients).
The researchers, who are all based on the continent, said a critical factor in these excess deaths might be a lack of intensive care resources and underuse of those available. For example, half of patients died without being given oxygen, while 68 per cent of hospitals had access to renal dialysis, as only 10 per cent of severely ill patients received it.
Estimates suggest that the provision of dialysis was seven times less, even as availability of oxygenate blood (ECMO) was 14 times lower than required to adequately treat COVID-19 patients.
Findings have important implications for managing critical patients in resource-limited settings where shortage of functioning equipment and specialised staff must be taken into consideration.
Leaders of the study in Nigeria, Prof. Akinyinka Omigbodun of the University College Hospital, Ibadan, and Prof. Adesoji Ademuyiwa of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba, reported that the challenges faced by this group of persons could be partly mitigated by not only ensuring the availability of the human and material resources needed for their care, but also devoting the required attention to the distribution of these resources across all the centres offering critical care services across the country.
Prof. Bruce Biccard from Groote Schuur Hospital and the University of Cape Town, South Africa, who co-led the research, pointed out that the work was first to give a comprehensive picture of what is happening to these people.
Until now, little was known about how the pandemic was seriously affecting this set of persons in the face of inadequate resources.
To address the gap, the African COVID-19 Critical Care Outcomes Study (ACCCOS) is identifying the human and hospital resources, underlying conditions and critical care interventions behind mortality or survival in adults (aged 18 or older) admitted to intensive care or high-care units in Africa.
The study focused on 64 hospitals in the above named countries.
Between May and December 2020, around half (3,752/6,779) of patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 infection referred to critical care were admitted. Of those, 3,140 patients participated in the study. All participants received standard care and were followed up for at least 30 days unless they died or were discharged. Modelling was used to identify risk factors associated with death.
After 30 days, almost half (48 per cent, 1,483/3,077) of the critically ill patients had died. The analysis estimates that death rates in these African patients were 11 per cent (in best case scenario) to 23 per cent (in worst case scenario) higher than the global average of 31.5 per cent.

Nigeria doesn't have high death rate, we have worst health care centre and still survived better than the so called western power

Coldshisha:
Nigeria doesn't have high death rate, we have worst health care centre and still survived better than the so called western power

So, we "still survive better" despite our "worst health care" that is meant to help us survive? You got data for that or you just asking us to believe you and that the published figures are accurate?

Before you respond, remember how very competent our government is and how many Nigerians are still denying there's no coronavirus just as we keep denying there's no Hiv/AIDs that's also killing us at an exceptionally high rate.