Covid-19 Mortality in an Acute Care Hospital: Association of Patient Factors With Decision to Forego the Intensive Care Unit.

Background: Public awareness of the large mortality toll of COVID-19 particularly among elderly and frail persons is high. This public awareness represents an enhanced opportunity for early and urgent goals-of-care discussions to reduce medically ineffective care.

Objective: To assess the end-of-life experiences of hospitalized patients dying of COVID-19 with respect to identifying the clinical factors associated with utilization or non-utilization of the ICU.