Coronavirus: in France, an underestimated mortality rate in intensive care?

Text by: RFI Follow

What is the real mortality rate in France for patients with Covid-19 admitted to intensive care? This is the question that arises this Monday, following a study that obtained the newspaper Le Monde. This evokes a mortality three to four times higher than previously estimated by the government. 

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Ten days ago, Jérôme Salomon, the Director General of Health, said that only 10% of patients admitted to intensive care died from the disease.

But data from the European Network for Artificial Ventilation (Reva) indicates that the reality would be between 30 and 40%. A huge difference but with a high scientific value, because the study is based on data from around 200 intensive care centers in France, and on a little more than a thousand patients followed for almost a month. An unprecedented study, by its scope and duration, which therefore seems to reflect the reality on the ground.

Resuscitation professionals, interviewed by Le Monde , confirm these estimates. The mortality rate would thus be higher than that of the H1N1 flu which for the most serious forms reached "only" 25%.

The difference between Professor Salomon's and Reva's estimates is explained by the fact that the Directorate General for Health is based on a reality at an instant T. In this case, that of Public Health France of April 16.

However, doctors continue to call for caution, believing that it is necessary to carry out studies over an even longer time to best reflect reality.

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