Clinical, epidemiological, and outcome profile of patients during all the three waves of coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic: A retrospective hospital-based study from North India

Abstract

Background: The impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been experienced by the entire population directly or indirectly. During all the three waves of COVID-19, herd immunity and other epidemiological factors played an important role in the severity and outcome of the disease. This study was conducted as an attempt to observe the clinical profile, exposure characteristics, and outcomes of COVID-19 patients from rural community admitted to a tertiary care facility. Materials and Methods: This retrospective observational study included data from January 2020 to March 2022. The data of patients including patient demography, clinical and laboratory parameters, and outcome of the disease were retrieved from patient case files. Patients were categorized based on disease severity according to the WHO guidelines. Results: A total of 2339 patients were included in this study. Out of total patients, males were 67% and the mean age of participants was 45.43 ± 18.48 years. Total patients having associated comorbid factors were 29.3% while 9.4% had multiple comorbidities. The most common comorbidity was diabetes mellitus (15.8%) followed by hypertension (13.4%). Overall mortality was found to be 16.2%. Fever was the most common presenting symptom (92%) followed by cough (51%) and myalgia (30%). Disease severity and outcome were significantly associated with advancing age and the presence of underlying comorbidities. Conclusion: Rural population has a comparable proportion of comorbidities as well as mortality. Common risk factors for severe disease in rural setting are old age and associated multiple comorbidities. Country-wide rural data should be collected for better understanding of COVID-19 disease in rural and remote populations.