Abstract
This systematic review and meta-analysis investigated the comorbidities, symptoms, clinical characteristics and treatment of COVID-19 patients. Epidemiological studies published in 2020 (from January–March) on the clinical presentation, laboratory findings and treatments of COVID-19 patients were identified from PubMed/MEDLINE and Embase databases. Studies published in English by 27th March, 2020 with original data were included. Primary outcomes included comorbidities of COVID-19 patients, their symptoms presented on hospital admission, laboratory results, radiological outcomes, and pharmacological and in-patient treatments. 76 studies were included in this meta-analysis, accounting for a total of 11,028 COVID-19 patients in multiple countries. A random-effects model was used to aggregate estimates across eligible studies and produce meta-analytic estimates. The most common comorbidities were hypertension (18.1%, 95% CI 15.4–20.8%). The most frequently identified symptoms were fever (72.4%, 95% CI 67.2–77.7%) and cough (55.5%, 95% CI 50.7–60.3%). For pharmacological treatment, 63.9% (95% CI 52.5–75.3%), 62.4% (95% CI 47.9–76.8%) and 29.7% (95% CI 21.8–37.6%) of patients were given antibiotics, antiviral, and corticosteroid, respectively. Notably, 62.6% (95% CI 39.9–85.4%) and 20.2% (95% CI 14.6–25.9%) of in-patients received oxygen therapy and non-invasive mechanical ventilation, respectively. This meta-analysis informed healthcare providers about the timely status of characteristics and treatments of COVID-19 patients across different countries.PROSPERO Registration Number: CRD42020176589
Highlights
Following the possible patient zero of coronavirus infection identified in early December 2 0191, the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been recognized as a pandemic in mid-March 2 0202, after the increasing global attention to the exponential growth of confirmed c ases[3]
The funnel plots and results Egger’s test of comorbidity status, symptoms presented, laboratory test and treatment were presented in eFigure 1–S5 in the Supplement. 63% (19/30) of the funnel plots showed significance in the Egger’s test for asymmetry, suggesting the possibility of publication bias or small-study effects caused by clinical heterogeneity. This meta-analysis reveals the condition of global medical community responding to COVID-19 in the early phase
Three months since Wuhan CDC admitted that there was a cluster of unknown pneumonia cases related to Huanan Seafood Market and a new coronavirus was identified as the cause of the p neumonia[108], as on 1 April, 2020, there have been 858,371 persons confirmed infected with COVID-19, affecting 202 countries and territories around the world
Summary
Following the possible patient zero of coronavirus infection identified in early December 2 0191, the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been recognized as a pandemic in mid-March 2 0202, after the increasing global attention to the exponential growth of confirmed c ases[3]. Following a few initial human infections[6], the disease could be transmitted to a substantial number of individuals with increased social g athering[7] and population mobility during holidays in December and January[8]. With the spread of the virus to other continents, there is an imminent need to review the current knowledge on the clinical features and outcomes of the early patients, so that further research and measures on epidemic control could be developed in this epoch of the pandemic
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