Jaime Vásquez-GómezLucero Gutierrez-GutierrezPablo Miranda-CuevasLuis Ríos-FlorezLuz Casas-CondoriMárcia GumielMarcelo Castillo-Retamal2026-03-222026-03-22202410.3390/medicina60040641https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina60040641https://andeanlibrary.org/handle/123456789/44047Citaciones: 3<i>Background and Objectives</i>: Patients at high altitudes with COVID-19 may experience a decrease in their partial oxygen saturation (PO₂S) levels. The objective was to assess the association between PO₂S and intensive care unit (ICU) stay in patients at high altitudes with COVID-19. <i>Materials and Methods</i>: Clinical records of 69 COVID-19 patients (36% women) admitted to the ICU were analyzed. Median values were considered for intra-group categories ("≤11 days" and ">11 days" in the ICU) and for PO₂S height categories ("<90%" and "≥90%"). Logistic regression and linear regression models adjusted for confounding variables were used. <i>Results</i>: Patients with >11 days in the ICU had 84% lower odds of having a PO₂S ≥ 90% (OR: 0.16 [CI: 0.02, 0.69], <i>p</i> = 0.005) compared to those with ≤11 days in the ICU. An increase in PO₂S by 1% reduced ICU stay by 0.22 days (β: -0.22 [CI: -0.33, -0.11], <i>p</i> < 0.001), potentially leading to a reduction of up to 1.44 days. <i>Conclusions</i>: PO₂S is a crucial factor in estimating ICU stays for COVID-19 patients at high altitudes and serves as an accessible and cost-effective measure. It should be used in infected patients to complement the prognosis of post-pandemic ICU stay.enCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)Pandemic2019-20 coronavirus outbreakSevere acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)Emergency medicineAltitude (triangle)MedicineMedical emergencyVirologyarticle