Clinical and Epidemiological Characteristics and Outcome of Patients With Covid-19 in Sri Lanka; An Observational Study

Abstract

Background Clinical manifestations of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID19) can vary from asymptomatic to profusely symptomatic due to many factors. Having data on the clinical characteristics of the affected patients is important for the screening and diagnosis of COVID-19. Main objective of this study is to evaluate the clinical and epidemiological characteristics and outcomes of patients with COVID-19 admitted to six treatment centres in Sri Lanka. Methods For the specific epidemic situation of COVID-19, we chose to conduct a descriptive retrospective study from six treatment centres in the country between March 10, 2020 and May 30, 2020. Results The study included 431 laboratory confirmed patients with COVID-19. Of them, 335 (78.2%) were males and their mean age was 37 years. Most patients (373: 86.5%) had had close contact with COVID-19 positive patients. The majority were asymptomatic (243: 56.3%) and of the symptomatic patients, the most common symptom was sore throat (81, 19%), followed by cough (72, 17%), headache (72, 17%), fever (50, 12%), and nasal discharge (36, 8%). Eight patients required either high dependency care or intensive unit care two of them succumbed to the illness (0.5%). Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) was used as a treatment in 248 patients and they had a significantly longer (17.6 days) duration of hospital stays compared those who were not treated (13.6 days) with HCQ. When the HCQ was not used as a treatment, asymptomatic individuals had significantly shorter durations of hospital (11.1 days) stays compared to symptomatic individuals (14.3 days). Conclusions The majority of patients remained asymptomatic during the course of illness. The most common symptom was sore throat, seen in one fifth of patients, followed by cough, and headache. Our study also indicated the possibility of reduced viral clearance and hence longer duration of hospital stays with HCQ.

Clinical Characteristics of Noncritical Patients with Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): Lessons from Bangladesh

“…Another characteristic feature of our patients was loss of smell or taste. But this was only reported from Sri Lanka with a lower rate [11][12][13][14] .…”

“…This is consistent with a summary report of 72,314 cases from China 15 . The severity of COVID-19 at presentation was not clearly mentioned in the early reports from the South Asian countries [11][12][13][14] . Most of the literature described the severity of illness among hospitalized patients.…”

Prevalence of Chemosensory Dysfunction in COVID-19 Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis Reveals Significant Ethnic Differences

“…The mean or median age of subjects in the 104 studies ranged from 26 to 77 years. Studies reported on subjects from multiple countries (n = 5), 15−19 Australia (n = 1), 20 Belgium (n = 1), 21 Brazil (n = 1), 22 Canada (n = 2), 23,24 China (n = 7), 2,19,25−29 France (n = 12), 19,30−39 Germany (n = 10), 19,40−46 Greece (n = 1), 49 Iceland (n = 1), 50 India (n = 2) 51,52 Iran (n = 3), 53−55 Iraq (n = 2), 56,57 Israel (n = 4), 58−61 Italy (n = 19), 62−80 Japan (n = 1), 81 Korea (n = 3), 82−84 the Netherlands (n = 1), 85 Poland (n = 1), 86 Qatar (n = 1), 87 Singapore (n = 2), 88,89 Spain (n = 6), 90−95 Sri Lanka (n = 1), 96 Sweden (n = 1), 97 Switzerland (n = 1), 98 Taiwan (n = 1), 99 Turkey (n = 4), 100−103 the U.K. (n = 3), 104−106 and the U.S.A. (n = 9). 104,107−114 The overall estimated random prevalence of smell loss among COVID-19 patients, calculated from a total of 91 studies containing 25 750 patients, was 43.04% [95% confidence interval (CI), 36.39−49.96%].…”

“…The mean or median age of subjects in the 104 studies ranged from 26 to 77 years. Studies reported on subjects from multiple countries ( n = 5), − Australia ( n = 1), Belgium ( n = 1), Brazil ( n = 1), Canada ( n = 2), , China ( n = 7), ,,− France ( n = 12), ,− Germany ( n = 10), ,− Greece ( n = 1), Iceland ( n = 1), India ( n = 2) , Iran ( n = 3), − Iraq ( n = 2), , Israel ( n = 4), − Italy ( n = 19), − Japan ( n = 1), Korea ( n = 3), − the Netherlands ( n = 1), Poland ( n = 1), Qatar ( n = 1), Singapore ( n = 2), , Spain ( n = 6), − Sri Lanka ( n = 1), Sweden ( n = 1), Switzerland ( n = 1), Taiwan ( n = 1), Turkey ( n = 4),…”

The D614G virus mutation enhances anosmia in COVID-19 patients: Evidence from a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies from South Asia

“…Fifteen studies reported anosmia prevalence in eighteen cohorts with a total of 7,247 COVID-19 patients from regions where the D614 virus was dominant: three studies from Kuwait and Singapore [42][43][44] and twelve from India or Pakistan. [45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54][55][56] We compared such data with the results obtained in 25 studies reporting on 25 cohorts with a total of 9,626 South Asian patients from the Indian subcontinent (India and Bangladesh) and Oman, when the G614 virus had become dominant (Table 1, illustrated in Fig. 3A, B).…”