ldentification of genomic variants of the SARS-CoV-2 Virus in patients admitted to a reference hospital in Curitiba/PR and the relationship with the clinical condition

Abstract

Introduction: The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has a variable clinical picture, ranging from patients with mild and nonspecific symptoms to severe symptoms such as respiratory distress syndrome and death. Objectives: To identify the genetic variant of the SARSCoV-2 virus in patients with COVID-19 who were hospitalized at the Hospital Universitário Evangélico Mackenzie (HUEM), and to correlate the viral genetic variant and the presented symptoms with the development of the patient's clinical condition. Methods: A crosssectional prospective study was performed with nasal swab samples from 219 SARS-CoV-2 positive patients. The patients were over 18 years old and were admitted to the HUEM between November 2021 and June 2022 for virus genotyping and analysis of medical records. Results: Of the 219 study participants, 66% had the delta variant and 33% had the omicron variant. The data obtained from deaths did not show significant relevance among the analyzed variables. The mean age was 61 years old, and the omicron variant affected older patients (65.5 years). The most prevalent comorbidities were SAH and DM in both genders, and the most relevant symptom was cough, which was observed mainly in those infected with the delta variant. Among the prognostic predictors, ground glass opacity on chest computed tomography was significantly more present in infections with delta variant. Conclusion: Delta variant affects the respiratory system more than omicron. In addition, despite of being collected in a similar time interval, the delta variant represented twice as many cases, which could demonstrate the effectiveness of the vaccine.

Keywords

• covid-19
• sars-cov-2
• polymerase chain reaction