Open AccessWallop of Symptoms and Co-morbidities on COVID-19 Outcome
Author(s) -
Heba H. Abo ElNaga,
Hesham A. AbdelHalim,
Mohamed Abdellatif,
Haroun Bg,
Basem Elnagdy,
Taghreed Ashraf,
Bahaa ElNaggar,
Passant S. Eldin,
Ismail Ta,
Beshoy Mosaad,
Tasbeeha Ismail,
Rasmy Boules,
Shawky Methuselah,
Paula Rafaat
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
the open respiratory medicine journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.341
H-Index - 19
ISSN - 1874-3064
DOI - 10.2174/1874306402115010046
Subject(s) - medicine , myalgia , diabetes mellitus , covid-19 , disease , comorbidity , severity of illness , kidney disease , pandemic , cross sectional study , diarrhea , pediatrics , infectious disease (medical specialty) , pathology , endocrinology
Background: Fever, cough, fatigue, and myalgia are usually the original clinical picture of the COVID-19 pandemic, which appears non-specific and not exclusive. Objectives: To illustrate the clinical picture pattern and assess the prevalence of underlying co-morbidities and their correlation with the severity of COVID-19 infected patients. Methods: A cross-sectional online survey included 580 participants who were either suspected or confirmed with COVID-19 infection. Results: The severity of the disease significantly correlates with both age (p=.01) and the time lag of the diagnosis of COVID-19 (p=.03). Hypertension (p=.015) and diabetes mellitus (p<.01) were significantly associated with the duration of symptoms. A wide range of ages (21-60 years) seemed to be the only risk factor for the severity. When symptoms were tested, dyspnea appeared to be the most prevalent symptom, predicting a more severe disease (OR= .066, 95% CI: .022- .200), followed by diarrhea (OR= .285, 95% CI: .122-.663), then fever (OR= .339, 95% CI: .139-.824). During the examination of co-morbidities influences on the severity, the only major co-morbidity that predicted a more severe disease was IHD (OR= .218, 95% CI: .073- .648), p= .006. Conclusion: Special consideration is required for patients with COVID-19 with an associated longer gap between symptoms and diagnosis and associated co-morbidities including hypertension, diabetes, and established chronic kidney disease (CKD), for which this study proved its profound influence on the severity of the illness and duration of symptoms.