Open AccessEXPERIENCE OF SEVERE ACUTE RESPIRATORY SYNDROME CORONAVIRUS-2 (SARS-COV-2) - COVID-19 AT A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL IN QUETTA, BALUCHISTAN
Author(s) -
Naveed Asif,
Shahzeb Ahmed Satti,
Alveena Younas,
Mehwish Gilani,
Waqas R. Shaikh,
Qurat ul Ain
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
pakistan armed forces medical journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2411-8842
pISSN - 0030-9648
DOI - 10.51253/pafmj.v71i6.6422
Subject(s) - medicine , asymptomatic , covid-19 , tertiary care , cross sectional study , coronavirus , disease , young adult , pediatrics , pandemic , infectious disease (medical specialty) , pathology
Objective: To share the experience of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2)-COVID-19 at a tertiary care hospital in Quetta, Baluchistan.
Study Design: Cross-sectional study.
Place and Duration of Study: Department of Pathology, Combined Military Hospital Quetta, from Mar to Dec 2020.
Methodology: This study included 14,741 study participants presenting to CMH Quetta with signs and symptoms of Coronavirus Disease-19 (COVID-19) and others undergoing COVID-19 PCR for screening purpose. Nasopharyngeal swab collected from these study participants were tested for COVID-19 viral RNA by real-time Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay.
Results: Out of these 14,741 study participants, 1886 (12.7%) were found to be SARS-CoV-2 PCR positive. Among 1886 study participants, 1503 (80%) were males while 383 (20%) were females. Mean age of the study participants was 36 ± 14 years. Most frequent clinical presentations were body aches (96.5%), fever (94.1%), cough (66.8%) and loss of appetite (68.2%). Around 67 (3.5%) positive study participants were asymptomatic.
Conclusion: In this study, we observed male predominance but severity of signs and symptoms among female study participants. SARS-COVID-19 caused disease with wide range of clinical spectrum and disease can be fatal as well.