Introduction:

COVID-19, caused by the betacoronavirus SARS-CoV-2, has overwhelmed the world's health systems.

Objective:

To describe the epidemiological characteristics of patients treated in a tertiary care hospital.

Methods:

A retrospective cohort study of patients diagnosed with or suspected of having COVID-19 from March 23 to July 31, 2020 was conducted.

Results:

4,401 patients were hospitalized at the Central Military Hospital, out of which 35 % were beneficiaries, 26 % civilians, 28 % active military, and only 11%, retired military. Male gender predominated, both in hospitalized patients and in those who died, as well as the O+ group and absence of comorbidities; among the observed comorbidities, the main ones were overweight and diabetes. Hospitalized patients' median age was 49 years, while median age of those who died was 62 years; women older than 51 years had a higher risk of dying. Adjusted case fatality rate was 18.5 %; 50 % died within the first six days.

Conclusions:

In this study, the epidemiological characteristics and main comorbidities in Mexican patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection were identified.