LONG BRANCH – The latest published study by Monmouth Medical Center physicians showcasing COVID-19 research compares the demographic characteristics, clinical presentation and disease severity of the second wave of COVID-19 with the first wave in the United States.
The manuscript, “Variation in Clinical Characteristics, Outcomes and Mortality of Hospitalized Patients with COVID-19 During the Second Wave of the Pandemic: A Single-Center Experience,” was published in the September 2021 issue of Journal of Investigative Medicine, according to a press release from the medical center.
This is the third COVID-19 research study conducted by Monmouth Medical Center’s Department of Medicine to be published in a national medical journal, according to the press release.
The latest manuscript comes from Kenneth M. Granet, MD, FACP, the hospital’s chief medical officer and immediate past chairman of the Department of Medicine; Dean Patton, MD, Medical Director of Pulmonary Rehabilitation and Critical Care medicine; and Internal Medicine resident physicians Mohsin Sheraz Mughalan, Ikwinder Preet Kaur, Reem Alhashemi and Alvin Buemio, and Chang Wang from the Department of Medicine, Rutgers University.
In their single-center study, the clinicians also investigated and compared clinical outcomes and in-hospital mortality of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 during the second wave of the pandemic and compared it with that of the first wave, according to the press release.
“To our knowledge, this is the first study in the United States that compares hospitalized patients with COVID-19 between the first and second waves of the pandemic,” said Granet, one of the lead contributors to the study.
“We found that inpatient mortality in hospitalized COVID-19 patients was higher during the first wave at 15.5% vs. 5.9% during the second wave. However, even though the mortality rate is lower, it is important to adhere to public health measures to limit community spread to end this pandemic,” Granet said.
“This new published study is yet another example of the important COVID-19 research efforts being conducted at Monmouth Medical Center,” said Eric Carney, president and chief executive officer, Monmouth Medical Center, Long Branch, and Monmouth Medical Center Southern Campus, Lakewood.
“We commend these Monmouth Medical Center physicians for their important contribution to the critical research that is needed to safely and effectively combat the COVID-19 virus,” Carney said.
The study comes on the heels of two other COVID-19 studies conducted by the Monmouth Medical Center Department of Medicine, including a study examining the prevalence of COVID-19 antibodies among healthcare professionals working in intensive care units and another that looked at ventilator-dependent acute hypoxic respiratory failure – which is associated with a higher mortality rate – in a hospital setting, according to the press release.
