Purpose: The purpose of the study was to explore the potential risk factors of mortality in patients with severe pneumonia during the omicron pandemic in South China in 2022.
Methods: Clinical data was collected from patients hospitalized with omicron COVID-19. Then, patients were categorized into the non-survival and survival groups. A comprehensive analysis was conducted to analyze the factors associated with negative outcome in individuals suffering from severe omicron COVID-19.
Results: In this study, 155 severe COVID-19 patients were included, comprising 55 non-survivors and 100 survivors. Non-survivors, in comparison to survivors, exhibited elevated levels of various biomarkers including neutrophil count, hypersensitive troponin T, urea, creatinine, C-reactive protein, procalcitonin, interleukin-6, plasma D-dimer, and derived neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (dNLR) (P < 0.05). They also displayed reduced lymphocyte count, platelet count, and albumin levels (P < 0.05) and were more prone to developing comorbidities, including shock, acute cardiac and renal injury, acute respiratory distress syndrome, coagulation disorders, and secondary infections. Platelet count (PLT) < 100 × 10^/L, interleukin-6 (IL-6) > 100 pg/mL, and dNLR > 5.0 independently contributed to the risk of death in patients suffering from severe COVID-19.
Conclusion: PLT, IL-6, and dNRL independently contributed to the risk of mortality in patients with severe pneumonia during the 2022 omicron pandemic in South China.

Keywords: COVID-19, omicron, severe infection, dNLR, risk factors