INTRODUCTION: The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic presented a unique behavior in each of the epidemiological waves in terms of clinical presentation, severity, and transmissibility
in Mexico, as in the rest of the world. The objective of this study was to describe the clinical severity and risk factors associated with mortality in patients hospitalized with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), by comparing each epidemiological wave in a reference public hospital in Mexico City. METHODOLOGY: The Kaplan-Meier and logistic regression analyses were performed to determine the mortality and odds ratio of 1,752 patients according to their specific comorbidity and during each epidemiological wave. RESULTS: The average age of the patients was 54 years. Each patient presented at least one comorbidity
such as, diabetes mellitus (33.3%), systemic arterial hypertension (28.3%), chronic kidney disease (8.67%), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (1.35%), and cancer (4.82%). The average length of hospital stay was 11.93 days. General mortality was 29%, with the percentage of deaths being higher in the first and second waves of COVID-19. Admission to the intensive care unit and mechanical ventilation were required in 21.6% and 5%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Chronic diseases such as diabetes mellitus and arterial hypertension were associated with a higher risk of death in patients hospitalized with COVID-19. This phenomenon was more evident during the first and second epidemiological waves of the pandemic in Mexico.