Clinical characteristics of non-intensive care unit COVID-19 patients in Saudi Arabia: A descriptive cross-sectional study

Abstract

Introduction The ongoing pandemic of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a global health concern. It has affected more than 5 million patients worldwide and resulted in an alarming number of deaths globally. While clinical characteristics have been reported elsewhere, data from our region is scarce. We investigated the clinical characteristics of mild to moderate cases of COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia. Methods This is a descriptive, cross-sectional study. Data of 401 confirmed COVID-19 patients were collected from 22 April 2020 to 21 May 2020 at five tertiary care hospitals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The patients were divided into four groups according to age, Group 1: 0–<18 years, Group 2: 18–<50 years, Group 3: 50–60 years, and Group 4: >60 years; and their clinical symptoms were compared. Results The median (IQR) age in years was 10.5 (1.5−16) in group I, 34 (29−41) in group II, 53 (51−56) in group III, and 66 (61−76) in group IV. Most patients were male (80%, n = 322) and of Arabian or Asian descent. The median length of stay in the hospital was 10 (8–17) days (range 3–42 days). The most common symptoms were cough (53.6%), fever (36.2%), fatigue (26.4%), dyspnea (21.9%), and sore throat (21.9%). Hypertension was the most common underlying comorbidity (14.7%), followed by obesity (11.5%), and diabetes (10%). Hypertensive patients were less likely to present with shortness of breath, cough, sputum, diarrhea, and fever. Conclusion There was no significant difference in the symptoms among different age groups and comorbidities were mostly seen in the older age group. Interestingly, hypertensive patients were found to have milder symptoms and a shorter length of stay. Further larger collaborative national studies are required to effectively understand clinical characteristics in our part of the world to efficiently manage and control the spread of SARS-CoV-2.

Clinical characteristics of asymptomatic and symptomatic COVID-19 patients in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia

“…The clinical presentations of symptomatic patients showed that fever was present in less than half of the patients. The presence of fever other studies is variable and ranges from 36% to 98.6% [ 11 , 17 ]. In a large study of 24,410 adults infected by SARS-CoV-2, 78% had fever on presentation [ 19 ].…”

“…In a systematic review that included patients till April 7th, 2020, 11% of the included patients had diabetes mellitus [ 21 ]. Other studies had also showed high rates of hypertension and diabetes mellitus among COVID-19 patients including studies from Saudi Arabia [ 10 , 11 ], Oman [ 22 ] and other parts of the world [ 2 , 23 , 24 ].…”

“…The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia had taken extensive preemptive strategies to curtail the spread of SARS-CoV-2 transmission [ 8 , 9 ]. There are limited published studies about COVID-19 in patients from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) [ [10] , [11] , [12] ], and thus here we present the clinical presentation of the initial cases that were diagnosed in Saudi Arabia.…”

Controlling COVID-19 Pandemic: A Mass Screening Experience in Saudi Arabia

“…Thus, it is essential to improve risk communication and community engagement regarding COVID-19 pandemic ( 47 ). The 1st reported COVID-19 case entered through the Saudis Eastern region port of entry leading to the lockdown of a number of its Governorate in the early phases of the pandemic ( 5 , 48 ). This would explain the high positivity rate of cases in the Eastern region in the initial active phase, which was eventually reduced in the community phase because of effective curfew measures.…”

“…Common symptoms displayed by infected patients include fever, cough, and sore throat. COVID-19 can also lead to serious complications, such as acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), mostly seen in patients with associated comorbidities ( 5 , 6 ). Although the diagnosis of COVID-19 depends on the epidemiological linkage and clinical presentation, the most reliable method for virus detection is by analyzing respiratory discharges through real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) ( 7 ).…”