Whether COVID-19 Affected Hospital Death Rate in Split - Dalmatia County, Croatia

The main aim of this study was to examine whether the COVID-19 pandemic affected hospital death rate. A cross-sectional comparative study using two different periods, pre-COVID-19 (March 2019 to February 2020) and the COVID-19 era (March 2020 to February 2021) was employed to explore the possibilities of COVID-19 influencing hospital death rate in Split and Dalmatian County, Croatia. Data from the National Public Health Information System was used in this research. The indicators were statistically analyzed. The study showed that in the COVID-19 era, there was a significantly higher hospital death rate in comparison to the pre-COVID-19 era (z=-14.084; p<0.001), mainly due to the significant increase in hospital death rate from respiratory diseases. The Intensive Care Unit and the Infectious Diseases Department showed a significantly higher hospital death rate among hospital department. Among deaths with confirmed COVID-19, deaths from respiratory diseases were significantly more positive (z=23.975, p<0.001). The results of the study showed that COVID-19 had an impact on hospital death rate in Split-Dalmatia County. Given that the study analysed the first year of the pandemic, additional research will be needed over a wider period to get a more detailed insight of the impact of COVID-19 on hospital death rate in Croatia, as well as in other regions.