Factors affecting the survival of early COVID-19 patients in South Korea: An observational study based on the Korean National Health Insurance big data.

• The number of patients who died from COVID-19 according to the elapsed date of death was the most common in 20 patients who died the next day after the initial diagnosis. • Survival rates were low, and the risk of death was higher in people in older age groups and with chronic diseases. • It is believed that early diagnosis and timely treatment are necessary for the elderly and those with chronic diseases. This study aimed to identify the survival rate and explore factors affecting survival among early COVID-19 patients in South Korea. Data reported by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), up to 15 July, when COVID-19 was confirmed were used as research data in connection with the National Health Insurance Service's (NHIS) national health information database. The final analysis targets were 12,646 confirmed patients and 303 deaths. The survival rate of patients with COVID-19 was estimated through Kaplan-Meier survival analysis. Cox proportional hazard regression analysis was performed to search for factors affecting survival. When looking at the survival rate by age group for men and women, the 28-day survival rate for men aged >80 years was 77% and 73% at 42 days, while 83% and 81% for women. Men had a worse survival rate than women. For chronic diseases, the highest risk of mortality was observed in malignant neoplasms of the respiratory and urogenital systems, followed by diseases of the urinary system and diabetes. The number of COVID-19 deaths was highest the next day after initial diagnosis. The case fatality rate was high in males, older age, and chronic diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]