Evolving mortality and clinical outcomes of hospitalized subjects during successive COVID-19 waves in Catalonia, Spain.

Background: The changes in shield strategies, treatments, emergence variants, and healthcare pathways might shift the profile and outcome of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in successive waves of the outbreak.

Methods: We retrospectively analysed the characteristics and in-hospital outcomes of all patients admitted with COVID-19 in eight university hospitals of Catalonia (North-East Spain) between Feb 28, 2020 and Feb 28, 2021. Using a 7-joinpoint regression analysis, we split admissions into four waves. The main hospital outcomes included 30-day mortality and admission to intensive care unit (ICU).