Clinical, laboratory and imaging features of COVID-19: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

INTRODUCTION: An epidemic of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) began in December 2019 in China leading to a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). Clinical, laboratory, and imaging features have been partially characterized in some observational studies. No systematic reviews on COVID-19 have been published to date. METHODS: We performed a systematic literature review with meta-analysis, using three databases to assess clinical, laboratory, imaging features, and outcomes of COVID-19 confirmed cases. Observational studies and also case reports, were included, and analyzed separately. We performed a random-effects model meta-analysis to calculate pooled prevalences and 95% confidence intervals (95%CI). RESULTS: 660 articles were retrieved for the time frame (1/1/2020-2/23/2020). After screening, 27 articles were selected for full-text assessment, 19 being finally included for qualitative and quantitative analyses. Additionally, 39 case report articles were included and analyzed separately. For 656 patients, fever (88.7%, 95%CI 84.5-92.9%), cough (57.6%, 95%CI 40.8-74.4%) and dyspnea (45.6%, 95%CI 10.9-80.4%) were the most prevalent manifestations. Among the patients, 20.3% (95%CI 10.0-30.6%) required intensive care unit (ICU), 32.8% presented with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) (95%CI 13.7-51.8), 6.2% (95%CI 3.1-9.3) with shock. Some 13.9% (95%CI 6.2-21.5%) of hospitalized patients had fatal outcomes (case fatality rate, CFR). CONCLUSION: COVID-19 brings a huge burden to healthcare facilities, especially in patients with comorbidities. ICU was required for approximately 20% of polymorbid, COVID-19 infected patients and hospitalization was associated with a CFR of >13%. As this virus spreads globally, countries need to urgently prepare human resources, infrastructure and facilities to treat severe COVID-19.

Ageusia and anosmia, a common sign of COVID-19? A case series from four countries.

Over the course of the pandemic due to the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), multiple new clinical manifestations, as the consequence of the tropism of the virus, have been recognized. That includes now the neurological manifestations and conditions, such as headache, encephalitis, as well as olfactory and taste disorders. We present a series of ten cases of RT-PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2-infected patients diagnosed with viral-associated olfactory and taste loss from four different countries.

Risk factors for mortality in patients with Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Bolivia: An analysis of the first 107 confirmed cases.

The present study is aimed to assess the risk factors for mortality in the first 107 rRT-PCR confirmed cases of SARS-CoV-2 infections in Bolivia. For this observational, retrospective and cross-sectional study, the epidemiological data records were collected from the Hospitals and the Ministry of Health of Bolivia, obtaining the clinical and epidemiological data of the COVID-19 cases that were laboratory-diagnosed during March 2-29, 2020. Samples were tested by rRT-PCR to SARS-CoV-2 at the Laboratory of the National Center of Tropical Diseases (CENETROP), following the protocol Charite, Berlin, Germany. The odds ratio (OR) with respective 95% confidence interval (95%CI) for mortality as dependent variable was calculated. When we comparatively analyzed survivors and non-survivors in this first group of 107 cases in Bolivia, we found that at bivariate analyses, age (±60 years old), hypertension, chronic heart failure, diabetes, and obesity, as well as the requirement of ICU, were significantly exposure variables associated with death. At the multivariate analysis (logistic regression), two variables remained significantly associated, age, ±60 years-old (OR=9.4, 95%CI 1.8-104.1) and hypertension (OR=3.3, 95%CI 1.3-6.3). As expected, age and comorbidities, particularly hypertension, were independent risk factors for mortality in Bolivia in the first 107 cases group. More further studies are required to better define risk factors and preventive measures related to COVID-19 in this and other Latin American countries.

Clinical features of the first cases and a cluster of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Bolivia imported from Italy and Spain.

INTRODUCTION: In March 2020, Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) arrived in Bolivia. Here, we report the main clinical findings, and epidemiological features of the first series of cases, and a cluster, confirmed in Bolivia. METHODS: For this observational, retrospective and cross-sectional study, information was obtained from the Hospitals and the Ministry of Health for the cases that were laboratory-diagnosed and related, during March 2020. rRT-PCR was used for the detection of the RNA of SARS-CoV-2 following the protocol Charité, Berlin, Germany, from nasopharyngeal swabs. RESULTS: Among 152 suspected cases investigated, 12 (7.9%) were confirmed with SARS-CoV-2 infected by rRT-PCR. The median age was 39 years (IQR 25-43), six of them male. Two cases proceed from Italy and three from Spain. Nine patients presented fever, and cough, five sore throat, and myalgia, among other symptoms. Only a 60 y-old woman with hypertension was hospitalized. None of the patients required ICU nor fatalities occurred in this group. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first report of surveillance of COVID-19 in Bolivia, with patients managed mainly with home isolation. Preparedness for a significant epidemic, as is going on in other countries, and the deployment of response plans for it, in the country is now taking place to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the population.