Comparative Study Shows Shorter Omicron-Related Hospital Stays
A clinical study recently published online by the New York Post sees the comparative analysis of both Omicron and Delta variants within hospitals. Like many before it, this study too pinpoints Omicron as the milder variant with fewer hospitalization admissions, shorter in-hospital stays, and less endpoint severity.
Not associated with The Centers Of Disease Control and Prevention, the study follows other COVID research that, too, shows Omicron to be milder than the Delta variant.
A Study Deems Omicron-Associated Hospitalizations Far Less Severe And Shorter
A study of the COVID cases within the Kaiser Permanente Southern California healthcare system, Clinical outcomes among patients infected with Omicron (B.1.1.529) SARS-CoV-2 variant in southern California compared the duration of Omicron- and Delta-related hospital stays and endpoint severity of patients.
Those infected with Omicron and Delta variants were analyzed. Severity was studied through hospital admissions associated with new-onset respiratory symptoms, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, mechanical ventilation, and mortality cases.
As concluded within the study, Omicron variant infections were associated with a substantially reduced risk of severe clinical endpoints and shorter durations of hospital stay.
Further key points of the study include:
- Omicron variant infections were associated with 52%, 53%, 74%, and 91% reductions in risk of any subsequent hospitalization, symptomatic hospitalization, ICU admission, and mortality relative to Delta variant infections.
- The median duration of hospital stay for patients admitted with symptomatic Omicron variant infections was approximately 70% shorter than that observed among patients with symptomatic Delta variant infections.
- Reductions in disease severity associated with Omicron variant infections were evident among both vaccinated and unvaccinated patients.
- When identifying Omicron hospitalizations of long duration, discharge dispositions were known for 84% of cases while Delta variant infections represented 78%.
- The intrinsically less severe infection from the Delta variant currently accounts for 90 percent of cases in the US.
- The evaluation of more than 70,000 infected saw Omicron cases less than half as likely to need hospitalization as Delta cases — and about 75 percent less likely to need intensive care.
- Those hospitalized with Omicron stayed 70 percent less time in the hospital (1.5 days) when compared to five days for Delta cases.
- Those infected with Omicron did not require a ventilator, unlike the small percentage of Delta cases that did.
- One out of 52,297 people infected with Omicron died – a significant reduction of 91 percent when compared to Delta cases which saw 14 deaths within a group of 16,982
- Reductions in disease severity associated with Omicron were clear in vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals when compared to the Delta variant.
Shorter Hospital Stays Still Provide Ample Time For Transmission
What is important to note is that with the high transmissibility of the Omicron variant and the high risk imposed on frontline healthcare works, it is important for all within hospital facilities to keep up with preventative measures, vaccinations, and other safety protocols. Even if studies showcase a more mild COVID variant, vigilance is key.
While shorter hospital stays may be seen with those infected by Omicron, a short duration still provides ample time for healthcare staff to become infected. With this, those working within hospitals, Emergency Departments (EDs), and Urgent Care Facilities (UCs) must play their part in reducing transmission within these settings.
With an already strained healthcare system in the U.S., now is the time for complacency to be avoided and for the public to see all variants as serious.
Guidance and recommendations for hospitals and healthcare facilities can be found on the CDC website.