Clinical characteristics of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients in Kuwait.

Abdullah Alshukry,Ali Bandar,Hamad Ali,Yaseen Ali,Jehad Abubaker,Abdullah Al Bader,Fahd Al-Mulla,Nasser Y Aly,Talal Al-Taweel,Ali A Dashti,Ebaa Al-Ozairi,Sriraman Devarajan,Mohammad Bu Abbas,Mohammad Abu-Farha,Hessah Taleb,Michele Tizzoni

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0242768

Abdullah Alshukry, Ali Bandar + Show 14 more

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https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0242768

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Abstract

This is a retrospective single-center study of 417 consecutive patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) admitted to Jaber Al-Ahmad Hospital in Kuwait between February 24, 2020 and May 24, 2020. In total, 39.3% of patients were asymptomatic, 41% were symptomatic with mild/moderate symptoms, 19.7% were admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU). Most common symptoms in cohort patients were fever (34.3%) and dry cough (32.6%) while shortness in breath was reported in (75.6%) of ICU admissions. Reported complications requiring ICU admission included Sepsis (68.3%), acute respiratory distress syndrome (95.1%) and heart failure (63.4%). ICU patients were more likely to have comorbidities, in comparison to non-ICU patients, including diabetes (35.4% vs 20.3%) and hypertension (40.2% vs 26.9%). Mortality rate of cohort was 14.4% and mean age of death was 54.20 years (± 11.09) and 90% of death cases were males. Chest high-resolution computed tomography for ICU cases reveled multifocal large patchy areas of ground glass opacification mixed with dense consolidation. Cases admitted to ICU showed abnormal levels of markers associated with infection, inflammation, abnormal blood clotting, heart problems and kidney problems. Mean hospital stay for asymptomatic cases was 20.69 days ±8.57 and for mild/moderate cases was 21.4 days ±8.28. Mean stay in ICU to outcome for survivors was 11.95 days ±8.96 and for death cases 13.15 days ±10.02. In this single-center case series of 417 hospitalized COVID-19 patients in Kuwait 39.3% were asymptomatic cases, 41% showed mild/moderate symptoms and 18.7% were admitted to ICU with a mortality rate of 14.4%.

Highlights

In early December 2019, the first clusters of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) were identified in Wuhan, China [1]
A poorer prognosis has been associated with older age, being male, and having pre-existing chronic conditions, such as hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes [8, 9]
We further investigate the dynamics of certain laboratory parameters in intensive care unit (ICU) admissions in relation to clinical outcomes

Summary

Introduction

In early December 2019, the first clusters of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) were identified in Wuhan, China [1]. The disease has been spreading quickly, affecting more than 5 million people and resulting in more than 350,000 deaths, which emphasizes the threat it poses to global health [2]. Clinical manifestations of COVID-19 have shown high variability, including asymptomatic carriers, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), and pneumonia with variable severity [3,4,5]. Most of the identified patients experience mild symptoms, including fever, cough, dyspnea, myalgia, and fatigue. Patients with severe cases develop ARDS and severe cardiac and renal complications, which can potentially lead to death [6, 7]. Pediatric cases have shown a milder clinical course [10]

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