Clinical and laboratory characteristics of patients hospitalised with COVID-19: clinical outcomes in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

• Published in: BMC infectious diseases Vol. 22; no. 1; p. 136
• Main Authors: Al Harbi, Mariam, Al Kaabi, Nawal, Al Nuaimi, Asma, Abdalla, Jehad, Khan, Tehmina, Gasmelseed, Huda, Khan, Asad, Hamdoun, Osama, Weber, Stefan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 08.02.2022; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Adult; Antiviral agents; C-reactive protein; Care and treatment; Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; Clinical features; Comorbidity; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; Creatinine; Diabetes mellitus; Diagnosis; Disease severity; Dosage and administration; Electronic health records; Electronic medical records; Expatriates; Ferritin; Health care; Health services; Hospitals; Humans; Hydroxychloroquine; Hypertension; Infectious diseases; Information systems; Intensive care; Interleukin 6; Interleukins; Kidney diseases; L-Lactate dehydrogenase; Laboratories; Laboratory tests; Lactate dehydrogenase; Lactic acid; Leukocytes (neutrophilic); Male; Morbidity; Mortality; Outcome; Pandemics; Patient outcomes; Patients; Pneumonia; Population; Respiratory diseases; Retrospective Studies; SARS-CoV-2; Severe acute respiratory syndrome; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Survival analysis; United Arab Emirates - epidemiology; Ventilators; Viral diseases; Vital signs; United Arab Emirates; Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates; COVID-19; Disease severity; Clinical features; Mortality; Outcome
• ISSN: 1471-2334; 1471-2334
• DOI: 10.1186/s12879-022-07059-1

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was first reported in December 2019. The severity of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) ranges from asymptomatic to severe and potentially fatal. We aimed to describe the clinical and laboratory features and outcomes of hospitalised patients with COVID-19 within the Abu Dhabi Healthcare Services Facilities (SEHA). Our retrospective analysis of patient data collected from electronic health records (EHRs) available from the SEHA health information system included all patients admitted from 1 March to 31 May 2020 with a laboratory-confirmed PCR diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Data of clinical features, co-morbidities, laboratory markers, length of hospital stay, treatment received and mortality were analysed according to severe versus non-severe disease. The study included 9390 patients. Patients were divided into severe and non-severe groups. Seven hundred twenty-one (7.68%) patients required intensive care, whereas the remaining patients (92.32%) had mild or moderate disease. The mean patient age of our cohort (41.8 years) was lower than the global average. Our population had male predominance, and it included various nationalities. The major co-morbidities were hypertension, diabetes mellitus and chronic kidney disease. Laboratory tests revealed significant differences in lactate dehydrogenase, ferritin, C-reactive protein, interleukin-6 and creatinine levels and the neutrophil count between the severe and non-severe groups. The most common anti-viral therapy was the combination of Hydroxychloroquine and Favipiravir. The overall in-hospital mortality rate was 1.63%, although the rate was 19.56% in the severe group. The mortality rate was higher in adults younger than 30 years than in those older than 60 years (2.3% vs. 0.95%). Our analysis suggested that Abu Dhabi had lower COVID-19 morbidity and mortalities rates were less than the reported rates then in China, Italy and the US. The affected population was relatively young, and it had an international representation. Globally, Abu Dhabi had one of the highest testing rates in relation to the population volume. We believe the early identification of patients and their younger age resulted in more favourable outcomes.