Patterns of Clinical Presentation of COVID-19 Patients in Federal Medical Centre, Asaba, Nigeria

Abstract

Background: COVID-19 is a global pandemic affecting over 25 million people with more than one million deaths and having different patterns of clinical presentation. The study aimed to describe the patterns of clinical presentation of COVID-19 patients in Federal Medical Centre, Asaba, Nigeria.

Methods: After obtaining an ethical approval, a facility-based retrospective cross-sectional study was carried out among 50 eligible patients in the hospital’s isolation ward. Data was collected from the patients’ case notes using a proforma to describe the epidemiological history, medical history, symptoms, signs, treatment measures and complications. Data were analyzed with Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 20 and presented as percentages, mean and standard deviation.

Results: The mean age of respondents was 44.7 ± 17.3 years with slightly higher proportion of female 26 (52.0%) and majority 41 (82.0%) had tertiary level of education. Fever 29 (76.3%), followed by malaise 19 (50.0%), cough 18 (47.4%), difficulty with breathing 14 (36.8%) and headache 14 (36.8%) were the most common presenting symptoms while majority 43 (86.0%) of the respondents had mild to moderate clinical presentation. The commonest source of the infection was close contact with confirmed case 33 (66.0%).

Conclusion: Mild to moderate cases of COVID-19 were more, with over two-third of the patients being symptomatic. The replication of this study in other COVID-19 treatment centers/isolation wards will aid in the better management of COVID-19 patients.