Clinical and epidemiological aspects of patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 variants: a case-control study

Camilla Natália Oliveira Santos,João Santana Da Silva,Pedro Germano De Gois Filho,João Victor Gomes Santos,Amélia Ribeiro De Jesus,Aline Mecenas Santana Albuquerque,Sofia Alves Torres,Taise Ferreira Cavalcante,Cliomar Alves Dos Santos,Dalmo Correia Filho,Lucas Sousa Magalhães,Roque Pacheco De Almeida,Enaldo Vieira De Melo

doi:10.33448/rsd-v11i3.26792

Camilla Natália Oliveira Santos, João Santana Da Silva + Show 11 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.33448/rsd-v11i3.26792

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Abstract

Objective: To compare the clinical outcomes of patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 variants with patients infected with the original strain. Methods: This is a case control study comparing cases of COVID-19 patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern identified by genomic sequencing, with a control group of 62 patients randomly selected from a COVID-19 database of patients diagnosed prior to the emergence of these variants. Findings: In the 40 patients infected with variants, the predominant (52.5%) was P.1 variant. The variant group presented more arthralgia (p=0.015), hyporexia (p=0.006), nausea/vomiting (p=0.048), and mental confusion (p=0.029), the last not identified in the control group. There were no significant differences in comorbidities or demographic data between the groups. Severe disease, according to the WHO Clinical Progression Scale, was identified only in those infected with the variants, as well as high-flow oxygen therapy and ICU admission (p=0.05). The two deaths reported in the study were in patients infected with the variants. Conclusions: The worst outcomes were observed in the group infected with SARS-CoV-2 variants, although no significant differences in comorbidities or demographics date were observed between the groups.

Highlights

The SARS-CoV-2 virus was identified in December 2019 in Wuhan province, China, being responsible for cases of mild disease to atypical and potentially fatal pneumonia, especially in the elderly (Leung, 2020)
The present study reports the clinical-epidemiological profile of 40 COVID-19 patients infected by variants, comparing the clinical course and outcomes of these cases with a control group of 62 patients randomly selected from a COVID-19 database of patients diagnosed prior to the emergence of these variants
The present study reports the clinical-epidemiological profile of 40 patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 variants, comparing the clinical course and outcome of these cases with a control group of 62 patients infected previously to the variants emerged

Summary

Introduction

The SARS-CoV-2 virus was identified in December 2019 in Wuhan province, China, being responsible for cases of mild disease to atypical and potentially fatal pneumonia, especially in the elderly (Leung, 2020). The unrestrained worldwide spread of SARS-CoV-2 has allowed the emergence of several mutations and new dominant variants, some of them have been designated as Variants of Concern (VOC) (Guo et al, 2021). In Brazil, the uncontrolled spread of SARS-CoV-2 led to emergence of two VOC, VOC P.1 and the VOC P.2 (Castro et al, 2021). Both variants were associated with cases of reinfection, decrease of efficiency of some vaccines and severe cases, contributing with the devasting second wave in Brazil (Faria et al, 2021; Zeiser et al, 2022). Due to the ongoing pandemic situation, other SARS-CoV-2 variants continues to be identified and related to increase of infectivity and disease severity (Aleem et al, 2021)

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