ABSTRACT
Data on the clinical characteristics, severity and management of COVID-19 from the Middle East region, especially the United Arab Emirates (UAE), is very limited. We studied the clinical characteristics, laboratory biomarkers, risk factors for severity and pharmacotherapy of hospitalized COVID-19 patients in this single-center, analytical cross-sectional study conducted in a secondary care hospital of the UAE. A total of 585 patients were included in the study (median age, 49 years (IQR, 39-59); 66% male). Age > 45 years (OR = 2.07, 95% CI: 1.04-4.14, p = 0.040), male gender (OR = 3.15, 95% CI: 1.52-6.51, p = 0.002), presentation symptoms such as fever (OR = 3.68, 95% CI:1.34-10.11, p = 0.011) and shortness of breath/dyspnea (OR = 5.36, 95% CI: 2.69-10.67, p < 0.001), Hb < 13 g/dL (OR = 3.17, 95% CI: 1.51-6.65, p = 0.002), neutrophils > 7 × 103/mcL (OR = 4.89, 95% CI: 1.66-14.37, p=0.004), lymphocytes < 1 × 103/mcL (OR = 7.78, 95% CI: 1.01-60.19, p = 0.049), sodium < 135 mmol/L (OR = 5.42, 95% CI: 1.05-27.95, p = 0.044), potassium < 3.6 mmol/L (OR = 3.36, 95% CI: 1.03-11.01, p = 0.045), urea > 6.5 mmol/L (OR = 3.37, 95% CI: 1.69-6.73, p = 0.001) and LDH > 227 IU/L (OR = 6.26, 95% CI: 1.61-24.32, p = 0.008) were independent predictors of the severity of COVID-19. Antivirals (524, 89.6%) and corticosteroids (358, 61.2%) were prescribed for the management of COVID-19. In conclusion, older age, male gender, presentation symptoms such as fever and dyspnea, low hemoglobin, neutrophilia, lymphopenia, hyponatremia, hypokalemia, elevated levels of urea and lactate dehydrogenase were found to be independent risk factors for severe COVID-19. The pharmacotherapy of COVID-19 patients in our study was diverse, and the medications were prescribed based on the clinical condition of the patients.