ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to investigate the prevalence and carry out epidemiology using sociodemographic data from patients with symptoms suggestive of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) (SARS-CoV-2) in 3 bordering Brazilian municipalities. METHODS: An epidemiological survey of positive cases of COVID-19 through reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was carried out in 1874 patients, seen in the Unified Health System (SUS), ages between 0 and 99 years, who had symptoms suggestive of COVID-19, from the cities of Assis Chateaubriand, Tupãssi, and Formosa do Oeste. RESULTS: It was possible to observe that of the 1874 patients seen in the public health network of the 3 municipalities, 354 were diagnosed as positive. The predominance of cases was in female patients (51.97%) and in patients who lived in urban areas (93.50%), and the predominant age group was 20-29 years (19.78%). CONCLUSION: The result of this study demonstrated the epidemiological profile of patients with respiratory and flu-like symptoms, positive for COVID-19, in 3 municipalities bordering Paraguay and Argentina. It was evident that the age group has its specificities regarding the susceptibility of the infection. Although the borders are closed, there was probably a spread of the virus in this region, due to the diversion, which showed an increase during the pandemic period.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: COVID-19 has reached more than 20 million people since its appearance in December 2019. As a result of the infection process by the Sars-CoV-2 virus, patients manifest initial symptoms easily mistaken for common flu. However, in a small group of the population, the condition may progress to pneumonia or Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to carry out an integrative review on laboratory and imaging diagnostics for COVID-19, in the period from 2019 to 2021. METHOD: Electronic databases PubMed, Google Scholar, SciELO, Virtual Library, LILACS, MEDLINE, ScienceDirect and the official website of the World Health Organization were used. RESULTS: RT-qPCR identifies fragments of viral RNA in the initial stage of the disease since the genes E and RdRp are the most used, given the great sensitivity. Imaging and serological methods can be used as complementary exams. The main radiographic findings are reticular and ground-glass opacity patterns, reversed halo sign, mosaic attenuation, and consolidations. The antibody levels are detected after the seventh day of symptom onset. CONCLUSION: Caution should be exercised when interpreting the results for the diagnosis of COVID-19, since the onset of clinical symptoms and laboratory and imaging tests must be taken into account.