Progression to severe COVID-19 disease

Method

Protocol-defined progression to severe disease in patients with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection -- typically a new supplemental-oxygen requirement, escalation to critical care, or study-specified severity criteria. The definition varies between trials and is recorded verbatim on the edge.

The method is part of the endpoint identity. Studies measuring the same quantity by a different method are held as separate endpoints.

Notes

Will be confused with COVID-19-related hospitalisation, because in many included trials admission IS the operational marker of progression -- so the two count overlapping but not identical events and their pooled estimates differ. They are neither one endpoint nor independent confirmations of each other, and citing both for the same claim double-counts. Also distinct from all-cause mortality and from symptom duration.