New York, May 28 (TIWN) Hospitalised COVID-19 patients in the US are enduring longer hospital stays and facing higher rates of intensive care unit (ICU) admission than patients in China, a new study reveals.

The results, published in the journal The BMJ, suggest that hospitals in the US may be harder hit by the coronavirus pandemic than initially thought, as many forecasts of disease burden -- particularly the number of hospital beds and ICU units needed at the peak of infection -- are based on data out of China.
"The hospital resources needed to meet the needs of severely ill patients are substantial. We found that observations from China may not provide a sufficient basis for anticipating the US health care demand," said study lead author Joseph Lewnard from the University of California.