Intensive care admission for Coronavirus OC43 respiratory tract infections

Abstract Background Coronavirus OC43 infection causes severe pneumonia in patients presenting with comorbidities, but clinical signs alone do not allow for viral identification. Objectives To analyze acute manifestations of Coronavirus OC43 infections and outcomes of patients admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU). Patients and methods Retrospective and monocentric study performed during a Coronavirus OC43 outbreak. We used multiplex PCR to detect an OC43 outbreak in Reunion Island during the 2016 Southern Hemisphere's winter: seven admissions to the ICU. Results Mean age of patients was 71 [67;76] years, SAPS II was 42 [28;53], pneumonia severity index 159 [139;182] vs 73 [40.5;107] for patients in medical wards, and 43% required mechanical ventilation. Comorbidities were diabetes mellitus (87%), chronic respiratory failure (57%), and chronic renal failure (29%). One patient died from Haemophilus influenzae co-infection. Conclusion As for MERS Co-V infections, underlying comorbidities impacted the clinical outcomes of OC43 infections.