Demographic And Clinical Characteristics Of Patients Suspected Of Having Covid-19 At A Training And Research Hospital In Turkey

Abstract

Aim: In the city of Wuhan, in Hubei Province of China, patients with pneumonia with unknown causes were seen on December 12th, 2019, and the disease, COVID-19, was announced to the whole world on December 31st, 2019. On March 11th, 2020, the World Health Organization declared that this epidemic was now a pandemic. COVID-19 remains a public health problem that is threatening the whole world. The aim of this study was to determine the demographic data and clinical features of patients who were suspected of having COVID-19 and tested by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Methods: This research covers patients who were admitted to our hospital with suspicion of COVID-19 between 13 March and 04 May 2020 and PCR samples were taken. The data to be used in the study were obtained retrospectively from the hospital information management system (HBYS) and Public Health Management System (HSYS). Permission was obtained from the ethics committee of the Health Research University Antalya Training and Research Hospital on 3.06.2020 (Decision no: 7/12). The research is planned as retrospective, cross-sectional and descriptive. Sociodemographic features, laboratory and imaging findings, clinical symptoms and course were examined using the SPSS 20.0 program. Results: Between March 13th and May 4th, 2020, PCR samples were taken from 2651 patients (55.45% male, 45.55% female) who applied to the Antalya Training and Research Hospital. The test positivity rate of the patients who were admitted was determined as 3.04%. The majority of the patients were adults and the mean age was 40 ± 18.19. Of the examined patient PCR samples, 2.9% were found to be positive. It was determined that the distribution of positive cases was similar in the females and males. Pulmonary tomography of 67.6% of the patients revealed a finding consistent with COVID-19 pneumonia, and 41.6% of the patients had bilateral lung involvement. The most common symptoms on admission included fever, cough, and muscle and joint pain. In the laboratory results of the PCR-positive patients, most of the leukocyte, hemoglobin, platelet, neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio, D-dimer, and ferritin levels were found to be normal. Conclusion: During the COVID-19 epidemic, it was revealed that older patients with chronic diseases and male patients were more susceptible. The establishment of emergency action plans in hospitals will be helpful by making evaluations for people in this risk group in order to carry out necessary studies against the second wave of COVID-19 or different pandemic situations that may occur.