A Retrospective Clinico-demographic Study of SARS-CoV-2 Patients at a Tertiary Care Centre, Assam, North-East India during the Second Wave of the Pandemic

Abstract

Assam along with the entire country of India experienced an unprecedented rise in SARS-CoV-2 infections and its fatal repercussions. Our earlier study during the first wave of the pandemic provided insight into the relationship between age and gender in COVID-19 cases. The present follow-up study is a retrospective Clinico-demographic Study of 1110 SARS-CoV-2 Patients during the Second Wave of the Pandemic. Out of the 1110 positive cases studied during the peak of the COVID-19 second wave, a total of 624 (56.21%) infected individuals were male, and 486 (43.7%) individuals were female. However, individuals in the age group 18-30 showed significant infection of COVID-19 cases (p>0.00001) suggesting higher susceptibility in this age group irrespective of gender. In addition, the highest number of positive symptomatic cases in males were seen in the age group of 31-40 years followed by the age group of 18-20 years. The clinical profiles of all COVID-19-infected symptomatic patients were also analyzed. While females were more likely to experience symptoms like nausea, bodily aches, and abdominal pain (p< 0.0001*). Male patients were substantially more likely than female patients to experience chest pain (p = 0.0006) and diarrhea (p <0.0001*). Additionally, throughout the duration of the study, 115 samples were sent over for sequencing in which the delta variant [B.1.617.2] was found to be the most common strain during the Second Wave. Our research will add to the body of information that might help develop data-driven North-East India-centric recommendations to improve the preparedness to respond to similar future emergencies