A cross-sectional study of pulmonary and extrapulmonary manifestations of COVID-19

Abstract

Background: While the name of the virus indicates respiratory disease, and the respiratory spread of COVID-19 has been well documented in the literature, the ongoing pandemic has shown that the virus is not confined to just the lung. Hence, physicians should be aware of the “many faces” that this singular disease can present with, for timely diagnosis and prompt initiation of best treatment options. Materials and Methods: A total of 1754 patients with confirmed COVID-19 infection were admitted at a rural tertiary care center, Karnataka, India. This study is a cross-sectional study done for a period of 6 months from July 2020 to December 2020. Demographic data, clinical manifestations, laboratory parameters, management, and outcomes were recorded and compared. Results: Out of 1754 COVID-19 patients, pulmonary manifestations were seen in 1222 patients, extrapulmonary manifestations in 360 patients, and 172 patients were asymptomatic. Males were affected more than females, with a male-to-female ratio of 1.2:1. Most common pulmonary manifestation seen was cough in 83.06%, followed by fever in 67.59%. Most common extrapulmonary manifestation seen was neurological followed by gastrointestinal in 60.83% and 35.8% patients, respectively. Fatality in patients with pulmonary manifestations was 5% and extrapulmonary manifestation was 3%. All patients were managed according to standard COVID-19 treatment protocol. Conclusion: Early recognition of COVID-19 infections remains a big challenge. COVID-19 can have diverse range of clinical manifestations. Hence, COVID-19 infection should be considered in the differential of any systemic disease during the current pandemic, even in the absence of pulmonary manifestations like fever or cough.