Impact of COVID-19 on mortality trends and patterns in a tertiary care hospital of Central India: A retrospective study

Objective: To investigate the impact of COVID-19 on the mortality trends and patterns in a tertiary teaching hospital in Raipur, Chhattisgarh, India.Methods: A hospital-based retrospective study was conducted to analyze the case reports of all deaths from January 2016 to December 2021 in a tertiary teaching hospital in Raipur, Chhattisgarh, India. The socio-demographic profile and the pattern of causes of death were recorded. The deaths were classified according to the 10th revision of the International Classification of Diseases.Results: A total of 6128 deaths were registered from 2016 to 2021 and the maximum death number was observed in 2021 (38.2%) followed by 2020 (32.5%) when the country was hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. The highest number of deaths was observed in the age group of 51 to 65 years i.e., 31.1% of the total deaths. In all five years, male deaths were more than female deaths, and more than 50% occurred within three days of hospitalization during the study period.Conclusions: Even though there is a rise in the death rate due to the sudden hit of COVID-19, the burden of both communicable and non-communicable diseases remains gradually increasing over the five years. There is a need for health awareness in the community about changing lifestyles and their harmful effects on health.