Tehran University Medical Journal (Mar 2024)
Comparative clinical and epidemiological analysis of waves during the corona epidemic based on a university surveillance system
Abstract
Background: COVID-19 is one of the most recent known human infections that has resulted in a global pandemic, causing high rates of morbidity and mortality worldwide. This study evaluated the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of the waves of the corona epidemic within a university surveillance system in southern Iran. Methods: This cross-sectional study analyzed data from 24,132 individuals with Covid-19 in the registered waves from the beginning of the Corona epidemic from March 2020 to March 2021 in one of the southern universities of Iran. Information on age, gender, number of infections, severity, hospitalization, recovery rate, dominant strain, and compliance with protocols separately for each wave from 2020 to 2021 was collected from the University's databases. After calculating the cumulative incidence rate, mean and standard deviation and drawing graphs, chi-square, Mann-Whitney and one-way ANOVA were used in SPSS26 at a significance level of 5%. Results: The cumulative incidence of the disease was 11.36%, with a relative frequency of hospitalization at 11.7% and an average hospital stay of Seven days. The highest percentage of protocol compliance was applied in the initial waves. The highest frequency of infection was in the third wave, where men were more infected than women in all waves except the 4th and 5th waves. High blood pressure was the most common underlying disease in patients and the most lung involvement was observed in the fifth wave. Most of the patients have recovered, and the highest rate of recovery was observed in the sixth wave. Significant associations were found between hospitalization duration, underlying conditions, and clinical symptoms across different waves (P<0.001). Systemic symptoms were the most common, and there was a notable difference in radiological findings between waves (P<0.001). Conclusion: The findings of this study emphasize the significant impact of underlying diseases and the severity of clinical symptoms on hospitalization outcomes. They also highlight the need for appropriate evidence-based management strategies and consideration of clinical changes and radiological patterns when evaluating diseases in different groups.
