Infection and Drug Resistance (Jul 2022)

Epidemiological and Clinical Characteristics of COVID-19 Patients in Northern Ethiopia: A Retrospective Cohort Study

  • Temesgen Abebe H,
  • Mitiku Ashebir M,
  • Mohamedniguss Ebrahim M,
  • Berhe Zelelow Y,
  • Mulugeta Bezabih A,
  • Redae Tefere G,
  • Fseha Teklehaimanot B,
  • Hintsa S,
  • Leul Welderufael A

Journal volume & issue
Vol. Volume 15
pp. 3579 – 3588

Abstract

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Haftom Temesgen Abebe,1,2 Mengistu Mitiku Ashebir,1 Mohamedawel Mohamedniguss Ebrahim,3 Yibrah Berhe Zelelow,3 Afework Mulugeta Bezabih,1 Getachew Redae Tefere,1 Berhane Fseha Teklehaimanot,4 Solomon Hintsa,5 Abadi Leul Welderufael3 1School of Public Health, College of Health Sciences, Mekelle University, Mekelle, Ethiopia; 2Laboratory Interdisciplinary Statistical Data Analysis, College of Health Sciences, Mekelle University, Mekelle, Ethiopia; 3School of Medicine, College of Health Sciences, Mekelle University, Mekelle, Ethiopia; 4Department of Public Health, College of Health Sciences, Adigrat University, Adigrat, Ethiopia; 5Department of Public Health, College of Health Sciences, Axum University, Axum, EthiopiaCorrespondence: Haftom Temesgen Abebe, School of Public Health, College of Health Sciences, Mekelle University, P.O.Box 1871, Mekelle, Ethiopia, Tel +251941982945, Email [email protected]: COVID-19, caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is an emerging global public health problem. The disease is believed to affect older people and is accompanied by clinical features such as fever, shortness of breath, and coughing. Currently, there is a lack of information regarding the characteristics of COVID-19 patients in Ethiopia. Thus, this paper aims to evaluate the epidemiological and clinical features of COVID-19 patients in Tigray, Northern Ethiopia.Patients and Methods: A total of 6,637 symptomatic and asymptomatic COVID-19 patients collected from six isolation and treatment centers in Tigray between May 7 and October 28, 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. Chi-square test or Fisher’s exact test was used to compare the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of COVID-19 patients as appropriate. A p-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.Results: The mean age of the patients was 31.3± 12.8. SARS-CoV-2 infects men more than women with a ratio of 1.85:1. About 16% of the patients were symptomatic, of which 13.3% (95% CI=11.3– 15.4%) were admitted to intensive care units and 6.1% (95% CI=4.5– 7.6%) were non-survivors. The mortality rate was increased up to 40.3% (95% CI=32.1– 48.4%) among patients with severe illness. A higher proportion of deaths were observed in men (73.2%) and 55.4% were in the age group of ≥ 50 years. About 4.3% (282 of 6,637) had one or more coexisting comorbidities; the most common being cardiovascular diseases (30.1%) and diabetes mellitus (23.8%). The comorbidity rate in the non-survivor group was significantly higher than in the survivor group (p-value < 0.001).Conclusion: The proportion of symptomatic patients was low. Non-survival was linked with old age and the existence of comorbidities. The findings of this study can help in the design of appropriate management strategies for COVID-19 patients, such as giving due emphasis to COVID-19 patients who are old and with comorbidities.Keywords: COVID-19, comorbidity, symptomatic, mortality rate

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