Comparison of epidemiological and clinical characteristics of COVID-19 patients with and without Wuhan exposure

Abstract

Background: A novel coronavirus called severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), first identified in Wuhan, China, has been rapidly spreading around the world. This study investigates the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients in Zhejiang Province who did or did not have a history of Wuhan exposure. Methods: We collected data from medical records of confirmed COVID-19 patients in Zhejiang Province from Jan. 17 to Feb. 7, 2020 and analyzed epidemiological, clinical, and treatment data of those with and without recorded recent exposure in Wuhan. Results: Patients in the control group were older than those in the exposure group ((48.19±16.13) years vs. (43.47±13.12) years, P<0.001), and more were over 65 years old (15.95% control vs. 5.60% exposure, P<0.001). The rate of clustered onset was also significantly higher in the control group than in the exposure group (31.39% vs. 18.66%, P<0.001).

Sociodemographic determinants and clinical risk factors associated with COVID-19 severity: a cross-sectional analysis of over 200,000 patients in Tehran, Iran

“…Patients with positive history of exposure to SARS-CoV-2 were more likely to develop low blood oxygen levels, but were less likely to develop severe health outcome. Additional work is recommended since studies have shown inconsistent findings in this respect, nevertheless it could be explained by the differences in the load of virus between the two groups [ 29 , 30 ].…”

Dynamic changes in clinical and CT characteristics of COVID-19 cases with different exposure histories: a retrospective study

“…In December 2019, an outbreak of novel viral pneumonia occurred in Wuhan, China, which proved to be associated with severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) [1] and was later named by the World Health Organization (WHO) as the corona virus disease (COVID- 19). COVID-19 initially mainly affected those who worked or lived around the Huanan seafood market (Wuhan, China) [2,3].…”

“…In clinical practice, we have also found similar results that patients who are residents of Wuhan or have recent a travel history to Wuhan, usually showed more prominent CT abnormalities, and progressed in short-term follow-up. However, Lian et al drew a different conclusion that there was no significant difference between COVID-19 patients with or without Wuhan exposure history in clinical characteristics [19]. The clinical and CT characteristics and their dynamic evolution of patients from non-endemic or core-infected areas have not been systematically reported and are still unclear.…”

The characteristics of and responses to the two COVID-19 outbreak waves in Hebei Province of China, January 2020 to February 2021

“…Containment delay referred to the interval in days between symptom onset and isolation, quarantine camp, hospital or the first-positive viral RNA test of the patient. Wuhan/Hubei exposure history was identified as a history that patients travelled from/to Wuhan/Hubei within 1 month before onset [ 5 , 6 ]. Patients or public involvement is not applicable and a full review by the Survey and Behavioural Research Ethics Committee was not required, because the study involves extraction of information from a publicly available database only.…”