Clinical characteristics of 4490 COVID-19 patients in Africa: A meta-analysis

Abstract

Introduction: The novel coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic that started in December 2019 has affected over 39 million people and killed over 1.1 million people. While more studies are published to help us understand the virus, there is a dearth of studies on the clinical characteristics and associated outcomes of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) on the African continent. Methods: We evaluated evidence from previous studies in Africa available in six databases between January 1 and October 6, 2020. Meta-analysis was then performed using Open-Meta Analyst software. Results: A total of seven studies including 4490 COVID-19 patients were included. The result of the meta-analysis showed 68.8% of infected patients were male. Common symptoms presented (with their incidences) were fever (42.8%), cough (33.3%), headache (11.3%), breathing problems (16.8%). Other minor occurring symptoms included diarrhea (7.5%), and rhinorrhea (9.4%). Fatality rate was 5.6%. Conclusion: This study presents the first description and analysis of the clinical characteristics of COVID-19 patients in Africa. The most common symptoms are fever, cough and breathing problems.

Clinical outcomes of hospitalised COVID-19 patients at Mthatha Regional Hospital, Eastern Cape, South Africa: A retrospective study

“…16 Similar findings were reported from a meta-analysis of clinical characteristics of covid-19 patients in Africa where clinical outcomes directly correlate with the underlying medical conditions and age. 17 Furthermore, this high mortality rate amongst the elderly with comorbidity was also reported from many international studies from France, the United Kingdom and Germany in the same age groups. 12,18 Our data also indicated that the majority of COVID-19 hospitalised patients who died during this period had underlying medical comorbidity and one-third of them died either on arrival to the hospital or within 1 h of arrival.…”

Evaluation of patient characteristics, management and outcomes for COVID-19 at district hospitals in the Western Cape, South Africa: descriptive observational study

“…Patients presented with the typical symptoms of COVID-19 that have also been reported elsewhere in Africa. 20 Fever, however, was only found in 12% of patients and many patients had hyperglycaemia and high blood pressure, reflecting underlying comorbidities. Family physicians reported that the procedures to use infrared thermometers to triage patients may not have resulted in accurate measurements and therefore fever may be underobserved.…”

Faktor-Faktor yang Berhubungan dengan Lama Rawat Inap Pasien COVID-19 di RSUD Serui Provinsi Papua: Studi Potong Lintang

“…Hasil ini sesuai dengan beberapa penelitian lainnya yang menunjukkan bahwa batuk dan demam merupakan keluhan yang paling sering. 20,21,30 Hasil analisis bivariat (Tabel 2) dan analisis multivariat (Tabel 3) menunjukkan bahwa terdapat hubungan yang signifikan antara demam dengan lama rawat inap. Hal ini konsisten dengan penelitian oleh Guo, dkk.…”