Symptoms of COVID-19 Confirmed cases Presenting to Emergency Department in A Tertiary Care Centre: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study

Abstract

Introduction: Clinical presentation of the patient with COVID-19 in an emergency department is very important. The proper assessment of the symptom allows correct intervention. So, this study is conducted specifically to find out the clinical spectrum of the patient on presentation to the emergency department.
 Methods: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study. A retrospective analysis of patient records was done. There were 258 COVID-19 positive cases admission from 13th April to 13th August 2020. Out of these cases, 57 cases were excluded as they did not have respiratory symptoms but were admitted for other medical conditions. So, 201 symptomatic patients were analyzed in this study. Symptoms of all patients with the confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 admitted from the emergency department were analyzed. Data entry was done in an excel sheet and presenting symptoms of COVID-19 positive patients were described along with their comorbid conditions.
 Results: Two hundred and one symptomatic patients were analyzed in this study. The mean age of study population was 37.9 years (median 37) with a minimum age of 2 months and a maximum age of 83 years. There were 114 (56.7%) male and 87 (43.3%) female; 109 (54.2%) patients were from outside the and 92 (45.8%) were from inside of Kathmandu Valley. The most common presenting symptom was fever 131 (65.2%) and cardiovascular condition including hypertension was the most common comorbid condition.
 Conclusions: Fever was the most common symptom of the patient presenting to the COVID19 emergency of our hospital. Moreover, fever needs to be analyzed carefully in terms of its onset total duration and associated cough, and underlying comorbid condition.

Fever among COVID-19 Patients in a Tertiary Care Hospital of Western Nepal: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study

“…15 In COVID-19, tissue damage or hypoxia causes the release of cytokines thus causing fever. 16 A study done by Schneider et al also suggested that fever is an important feature in severe form of covid-19. 17 Out of the total study population, 59.7% of the patients were <50 years of age and 40.3% were ≥ 50 years of age.…”

Outcome of COVID-19 Infection in vaccinated and unvaccinated adults admitted to Patan Hospital, Nepal

“…Till November 2021 only two similar types of published studies were found to compare with our study. 19,20 In our study, mortality was more in the unvaccinated population than in the vaccinated population. The disposition of the patient was statistically significant and we found more mortality in 65(18.8%) cases among unvaccinated cases vs. 1(4.3%) among vaccinated, with a p-value of <0.001.…”

“…20. This crosssectional study was carried out during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Nepal, and the symptoms reported were fever 131(65.2 %), weakness 40(19.9%), cough 39(19.4%), running nose 34(16.9%), shortness of breath 29(14.4%), headache 27(13.4%) and sore throat 13(6.5%). 20 The higher frequency of shortness of breath reported during the second wave of the pandemic in our study might be due to the delta variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus responsible for the pandemic.…”

Clinico-Epidemiological Profile of COVID-19 of Patients Presenting to Emergency Department of a Tertiary Medical College of Central Nepal

“…9 Bajracharya et al, found that during arrival at the emergency department, the most common presenting symptom was fever, observed in 131 patients, accounting for 65.2% of the cases. 10 An epidemiological review published in China also indicates that fever (98.6%) is one of the common symptoms observed among patients. 19 Fever is considered one of the key criteria in defining a suspected case.…”