156: Ethnic Disparities in Outcomes Among COVID-19 Patients in Our Nation’s Capital

INTRODUCTION: African American and Hispanic patients have been disproportionately affected by infection with SARS-CoV-2 and subsequent coronavirus disease (COVID-19) Initial data suggests that these populations are more likely to suffer severe illness requiring hospitalization compared to Whites We sought to further investigate the effects of race and ethnicity on critical care outcomes in hospitalized COVID-19 patients within the ethnically diverse area of the District of Columbia METHODS: We performed a single-center, review of a prospective registry of 233 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 at an urban, academic hospital in Washington, D C Demographic and clinical data was gathered from chart review We compared mean admission SOFA and APACHE scores, along with rates of ICU admission, intubation and mortality between White, Black, Hispanic, and Other ethnicities RESULTS: Of the admitted patients 3 8% (n=9) were White, 70% (n=166) were Black, and 17% (n=41) Hispanic, with 7 7% (n=18) unknown or other race The mean admission SOFA score for White, Black and Hispanic patients were 3 14, 2 65 and 1 88, respectively The mean APACHE scores for Whites, Blacks, and Hispanics were 15 25, 17 85, and 14 75, respectively 56% (n=5) of Whites, 29% (n=48) of Blacks, and 41% (n=17) of Hispanics were admitted to the ICU Intubations occurred in 44% (n=4) of Whites, 17% (n=28) of Blacks, and 37% (n=15) of Hispanics Mortality rates were 22% (n=2), 30% (n=49), and 29% (n=12) in Whites, Blacks, and Hispanics, respectively CONCLUSIONS: According to estimates by the US census bureau, the population of the District of Columbia is 46% White, 46% Black, and 11 3% Hispanic Our data demonstrates a disproportionate hospitalization rate in minorities affected by COVID-19 Despite lower ICU admission and intubation rates, Blacks had a high mortality rate There was a disproportionately high utilization of the ICU care, intubation and mortality amongst Hispanics Further investigation is necessary to examine causes of these significant health disparities and to prevent further health inequalities amongst minorities