Conclusions
n COVID-19 patients, the decision to intubate within the first 24 h of ICU admission was associated with a protective benefit. It showed a lower risk of mortality compared to performing intubation after the first 24-h window of ICU admission. Our data suggest that physicians would consider a 24-h window to perform an intubation on COVID-19 patients admitted to ICU. Based on the observational nature of the data, this information should be validated further in future studies.