Clinical characteristics of COVID-19: an analysis of 11 cases

Abstract

Objective To analyze the epidemiological features, clinical manifestations, laboratory test findings and radiologic features of COVID-19 patients. Methods Eleven patients positive for 2019-nCoV nucleic acid testing were collected from January 21 to February 4, 2020. Their epidemiological features, initial symptoms, white blood cell count, lymphocyte count, procalcitonin (PCT) level, serum amyloid A (SAA) level, C-reactive protein (CRP) level, radiographic features and treatment regimen were analyzed. All statistical analyses were performed using the SPSS 22.0 software. Results All patients were moderate cases, and the average time from the onset of the illness was (3.8 ±2.4) d. Eight patients had a history of travel to Hubei or exposure to people from Hubei province within 14 d before the onset. The initial symptoms were fever in 9 patients and pharyngalgia in 1 patient, and another patient had no clinical symptoms at all. All patients had normal white blood cell count, and 3 patients had a decreased lymphocyte count. Nine patients had an increased SAA level, and 6 patients had a mild increase in the CRP level. All of them showed a normal PCT level. Imaging mainly showed patchy and interstitial changes. All patients were treated with interferon-α and lopinavir/ritonavir tablets as the basic treatment plan. Three patients were given additional antibacterial treatment, and the disease was well controlled after treatment. Two patients had already been cured and discharged at the time of the manuscript submitted. Conclusions In this report, 11 COVID-19 patients were all imported moderate cases. There were no specific changes in laboratory findings, and the conditions were stable after treatment. Key words: Coronavirus infections; COVID-19; Epidemiology; Clinical features