Background: Although many studies highlighted the clinical features of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), still the clinical profile and associated factors of critically ill patients is limited. Thus, it was aimed to evaluate the clinical characteristics and outcomes of COVID-19-infected patients admitted to the intensive care units (ICU) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Methods: This study was a retrospective noninterventional chart review. Charts and data of all COVID-19-infected patients who required admission to ICU in KSA between August 2020 and April 2021 were obtained from the National Health Observatory Portal of ICU Bed Management System, KSA. Results: A total of 9,111 patients were included with a mean age of 59.26 ± 16.08. Nearly half of them (N = 4,706, 51.7%) had diabetes and 47.1% had hypertension. Totally 3,114 (34.2%) patients received invasive ventilation. Among the studied patients, 81 (0.9%) received extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, while 415 (4.6%) required hemodialysis in the ICU. As for the length of stay (LOS) in the ICU, the mean LOS in days was 11.73 ± 13.36. Having at least one comorbidity (p = <0.001) was seen to be significantly associated with a longer LOS in the ICU. Older age and female gender were significantly associated with mortality (p < 0.001). Mortality incidence was 35.1% (N = 3,197). Conclusion: National Health Observatory Portal analysis revealed that most patients required noninvasive mechanical ventilation. The mortality rate was high, particularly among older individuals with preexisting comorbidities.

Keywords: Keywords: coronavirus disease 19; SARS-CoV-2; ICU; comorbidities; intensive care; mortality.