Clinical presentations, laboratory and radiological findings, and treatments for 11,028 COVID-19 patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 10; no. 1; p. 19765
• Main Authors: Wong, Carlos K. H., Wong, Janet Y. H., Tang, Eric H. M., Au, C. H., Wai, Abraham K. C.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 13.11.2020; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 631/326; 692/308; 692/499; 692/699; 692/700; Adrenal Cortex Hormones - administration & dosage; Adrenal Cortex Hormones - therapeutic use; Anti-Bacterial Agents - administration & dosage; Anti-Bacterial Agents - therapeutic use; Antibiotics; Antiviral Agents - administration & dosage; Antiviral Agents - therapeutic use; Comorbidity; Coronaviruses; Corticosteroids; Cough; COVID-19; COVID-19 - diagnosis; COVID-19 - epidemiology; COVID-19 - therapy; COVID-19 Testing - statistics & numerical data; CRD; CRD42020176589; Drug therapy; Drug Utilization - statistics & numerical data; Epidemiology; Fever; Humanities and Social Sciences; Humans; Hypertension - epidemiology; Laboratories; Mechanical ventilation; Meta-analysis; multidisciplinary; Oxygen Inhalation Therapy - statistics & numerical data; Patients; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Systematic review; Tomography, X-Ray Computed - statistics & numerical data
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-74988-9

This systematic review and meta-analysis investigated the comorbidities, symptoms, clinical characteristics and treatment of COVID-19 patients. Epidemiological studies published in 2020 (from January–March) on the clinical presentation, laboratory findings and treatments of COVID-19 patients were identified from PubMed/MEDLINE and Embase databases. Studies published in English by 27th March, 2020 with original data were included. Primary outcomes included comorbidities of COVID-19 patients, their symptoms presented on hospital admission, laboratory results, radiological outcomes, and pharmacological and in-patient treatments. 76 studies were included in this meta-analysis, accounting for a total of 11,028 COVID-19 patients in multiple countries. A random-effects model was used to aggregate estimates across eligible studies and produce meta-analytic estimates. The most common comorbidities were hypertension (18.1%, 95% CI 15.4–20.8%). The most frequently identified symptoms were fever (72.4%, 95% CI 67.2–77.7%) and cough (55.5%, 95% CI 50.7–60.3%). For pharmacological treatment, 63.9% (95% CI 52.5–75.3%), 62.4% (95% CI 47.9–76.8%) and 29.7% (95% CI 21.8–37.6%) of patients were given antibiotics, antiviral, and corticosteroid, respectively. Notably, 62.6% (95% CI 39.9–85.4%) and 20.2% (95% CI 14.6–25.9%) of in-patients received oxygen therapy and non-invasive mechanical ventilation, respectively. This meta-analysis informed healthcare providers about the timely status of characteristics and treatments of COVID-19 patients across different countries. PROSPERO Registration Number: CRD42020176589