Prevalence of COVID-19 Positive Cases Diagnosed by Real time Polymerase Chain Reaction in a Tertiary Care Hospital of Nepal

Abstract

Introduction: The virus that causes COVID-19 is known as severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus-2. This new variant of Corona Virus introduced in China has urged the massive health system resources to focus on its screening and management of sick patients worldwide. We aimed to find the prevalence of COVID-19 positive cases diagnosed by Real-time polymerase chain reaction in a tertiary care hospital of Nepal. Methods: This is a descriptive cross-sectional study that was conducted from 11th of November to 15th December 2020. Nasopharyngeal and Oropharyngeal swabs were collected, and confirmation of cases of COVID-19 was done based on the detection of viral ribonucleic acid by nucleic acid amplification tests such as real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reactions. The viral genes targeted include the E, N, and ORF. Results: A total of 15247 samples have been processed, of which s (14.81%) positive cases were included in this study. There were 1427 (63.19%) male and 831 (36.68%) females. The majority of the cases were asymptomatic 1386 (61.38%). The most common age group infected was between 15 to 40 years, 841 (58.93%) male and 542 (65.22%) females. The most common presenting symptoms were cough 315 (13.95%) and fever 306 (13.55%). Conclusions: Most of the individuals reported for real-time polymerase chain reaction were asymptomatic patients who might be contagious and have the potential to transmit infection. Among symptomatic cases, common symptoms were cough and fever.

Keywords

• asymptomatic; COVID-19; cycle threshold value; reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction.