Clinical characteristics of COVID-19 in a tertiary health facility in northeast Nigeria (original) (raw)

2021, Nigerian Journal of Medicine

Aim: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by a newly identified β-coronavirus (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2), has a varied clinical manifestation. We evaluated the clinical features of COVID-19 in symptomatic patients that presented for care at a Federal Medical Centre Nguru, Northeast Nigeria. Methodology: In this retrospective cohort study, we reviewed and analyzed relevant information abstracted from the medical records of symptomatic COVID-19 patients that were managed from March 14 to October 14, 2020, in the facility. Results: Clinical records of 55 symptomatic COVID-19 patients were evaluated in this study. Their mean age was 49.1 ± 16.3 (females 51.4 ± 15.6, males 48.5 ± 17.2, P = 0.601) with females constituting 47.2% of the studied patients. Fever (87.3%), cough (67.3%), sore throat (49.1%) and rhinorrhea (41.8%) were the most common clinical feature. Other features included difficulty in breathing (25.5%) and ageusia (14.6%). Gastrointestinal...