Clinico-demographic profile & hospital outcomes of COVID-19 patients admitted at a tertiary care centre in north India

Abstract

Background & objectives: In December 2019, a novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) emerged in China and rapidly spread globally including India. The characteristic clinical observations and outcomes of this disease (COVID-19) have been reported from different countries. The present study was aimed to describe the clinico-demographic characteristics and in-hospital outcomes of a group of COVID-19 patients in north India. Methods: This was a prospective, single-centre collection of data regarding epidemiological, demographic, clinical and laboratory parameters, management and outcome of COVID-19 patients admitted in a tertiary care facility in north India. Patient outcomes were recorded as death, discharge and still admitted. Results: Data of 144 patients with COVID-19 were recorded and analyzed. The mean age of the patients was 40.1±13.1 yr, with 93.1 per cent males, and included 10 (6.9%) foreign nationals. Domestic travel to or from affected States (77.1%) and close contact with COVID-19 patients in congregations (82.6%) constituted the most commonly documented exposure. Nine (6.3%) patients were smokers, with a median smoking index of 200. Comorbidities were present in 23 (15.9%) patients, of which diabetes mellitus (n=16; 11.1%) was the most common. A significant proportion of patients had no symptoms (n=64; 44.4%); among the symptomatic, cough (34.7%) was the most common symptom followed by fever (17.4%) and nasal symptoms (2.15%). Majority of the patients were managed with supportive treatment with hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin given on a case-to-case basis. Only five (3.5%) patients required oxygen supplementation, four (2.8%) patients had severe disease requiring intensive care, one required mechanical ventilation and mortality occurred in two (1.4%) patients. The time to reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) negativity was 16-18 days. Interpretation & conclusions: In this single-centre study of 144 hospitalized patients with confirmed COVID-19 in north India, the characteristic findings included younger age, high proportion of asymptomatic patients, long time to PCR negativity and low need for intensive care unit care.

Clinical Profile, Hospital Course and Outcome of Children with COVID-19

“…Another observation was that the median (IQR) time for RT-PCR to become negative in the present cohort was 16 (12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19) d, a finding similar to the report from Delhi on adult patients [24]. Studies on virological assessment of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 showed persistence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in nasopharyngeal samples for a duration of about 2 wk [25,26].…”

Characteristics and outcomes of hospitalized adults with COVID-19 in Nepal: a multicenter, prospective cohort study

“…We observed that the males comprised an overwhelming majority (82.3%) of our patients This is similar to the data from other South Asian countries like India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Iran where the males comprised 60 to 90% of the admitted COVID-19 patients [9][10][11][12]. The male preponderance among the hospitalized patients was less pronounced in countries like the US, UK,China and Indonesia [13][14][15][16].One possible reason for this overwhelming male majority is that most of the COVID-19 patients in our study were migrant workers, and it is usually the adult males who go abroad for work.…”

“…We observed that the males comprised an overwhelming majority (82.3%) of our patients This is similar to the data from other South Asian countries like India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Iran where the males comprised 60 to 90% of the admitted COVID-19 patients [9-12]. The male preponderance among the hospitalized patients was less pronounced in countries like the US, UK,China and Indonesia [13-16].…”

“…We learnt that asymptomatic patients accounted for the vast majority (72.3%) of the study patients. Such high proportions of asymptomatic patients among hospitalized patients are similar to the studies from India [9, 23]. This may probably be because hospitals in Nepal do not have a uniform and well-followed criteria for admission and discharge.…”

Experience from a COVID-19 screening centre of a tertiary care institution: A retrospective hospital-based study

“…in a study done among COVID-19 positive patients at a tertiary care institution in North India. (16) Maximum proportion (79.23%) of patients visiting CS-OPD was without any symptoms relevant to COVID-19. This asymptomatic population visiting CS-OPD was mainly consisted of patients coming to the hospital for follow up visits, patient attendants, healthcare workers and individual with travel history to hotspot areas at that point of time.…”