The Course of Mild and Moderate COVID-19 Infections-The Unexpected Long-Lasting Challenge

Background. The course of disease in mild and moderate COVID-19 has many implications for mobile patients, such as the risk of spread of the infection, precautions taken, and investigations targeted at preventing transmission. Methods. Three hundred thirty-one adults were hospitalized from January 21 to February 22, 2020, and classified as severe (10%) or critical (4.8%) cases;1.5% died. Two hundred eighty-two (85.2%) mild or moderate cases were admitted to regular wards. Epidemiological, demographic, clinical, chest computed tomography (CT) scan, laboratory, treatment, and outcome data from patient records were analyzed retrospectively. Results. Patients were symptomatic for 9.82 +/- 5.75 (1-37) days. Pulmonary involvement was demonstrated on a chest CT scan in 97.9% of cases. It took 16.81 +/- 8.54 (3-49) days from the appearance of the first symptom until 274 patients tested virus-negative in naso- and oropharyngeal (NP) swabs, blood, urine, and stool, and 234 (83%) patients were asymptomatic for 9.09 +/- 7.82 (1-44) days. Subsequently, 131 patients were discharged. One hundred sixty-nine remained in the hospital;these patients tested virus-free and were clinically asymptomatic because of widespread persisting or increasing pulmonary infiltrates. Hospitalization took 16.24 +/- 7.57 (2-47) days;the time interval from the first symptom to discharge was 21.37 +/- 7.85 (3-52) days. Conclusions. With an asymptomatic phase, disease courses are unexpectedly long until the stage of virus negativity. NP swabs are not reliable in the later stages of COVID-19. Pneumonia outlasts virus-positive tests if sputum is not acquired. Imminent pulmonary fibrosis in high-risk groups demands follow-up examinations. Investigation of promising antiviral agents should heed the specific needs of mild and moderate COVID-19 patients.

[Effects of angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor/angiotensin receptor blocker on clinical characteristics of coronavirus disease 2019 patients with hypertension].

Objective: To analyze the effects of angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor/angiotensin receptor blocker (ACEI/ARB) on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients with hypertension, and to provide an evidence for selecting antihypertensive drugs in those patients. Methods: Clinical data were retrospectively analyzed in 58 COVID-19 patients with hypertension admitted to Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center from January 20 to February 22, 2020, including epidemiological history, clinical manifestations, laboratory findings, chest CT and outcome. Patients were divided into ACEI/ARB group and non-ACEI/ARB group. Results: Twenty-six patients were in ACEI/ARB group and the other 32 patients in non-ACEI/ARB group, with median age 64.0 (49.5, 72.0) years and 64.0 (57.0, 68.8) years respectively. The median time to onset was 5(3, 8) days in ACEI/ARB group and 4 (3, 7) days in non-ACEI/ARB group, the proportion of patients with severe or critical illness was 19.2% and 15.6% respectively. The main clinical symptoms in two groups were fever (80.8% vs. 84.4%) and cough (23.1% vs. 31.3%). The following parameters were comparable including lymphocyte counts, C-reactive protein, lactate dehydrogenase, D-dimer, bilateral involvement in chest CT (76.9% vs. 71.9%), worsening of COVID-19 (15.4% vs. 9.4%), favorable outcome (92.3% vs. 96.9%) between ACEI/ARB group and non-ACEI/ARB group respectively (all P>0.05). However, compared with non-ACEI/ARB group, serum creatinine [80.49 (68.72, 95.30) µmol/L vs. 71.29 (50.98, 76.98) µmol/L, P=0.007] was higher significantly in ACEI/ARB group. Conclusions: ACEI/ARB drugs have no significant effects on baseline clinical parameters (serum creatine and myoglobin excluded) , outcome, and prognosis of COVID-19 patients with hypertension. Antihypertensive drugs are not suggested to adjust in those patients, but the potential impairment of renal function as elevation of serum creatinine should be paid attention in patients administrating ACEI/ARB drugs.

[Analysis of baseline liver biochemical parameters in 324 cases with novel coronavirus pneumonia in Shanghai area].

Objective: To summarize the clinical characteristics and liver biochemical parameters of 324 cases admitted with novel coronavirus pneumonia in Shanghai area. Methods: Clinical data and baseline liver biochemical parameters of 324 cases with novel coronavirus pneumonia admitted to the Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center from January 20, 2020 to February 24, 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. Patients were divided into two groups based on the status of illness: mild type (mild and typical) and severe type (severe and critical).The differences in clinical data and baseline liver biochemical parameters of the two groups were described and compared. The t-test and Wilcoxon rank-sum test were used for measurement data. The enumeration data were expressed by frequency and rate, and chi-square test was used. Results: Of the 324 cases with novel coronavirus pneumonia, 26 were severe cases (8%), with median onset of 5 days, 20 cases were HBsAg positive (6.2%), and 70 cases (21.6%) with fatty liver, diagnosed with X-ray computed tomography. Alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), γ-glutamyl transferase (GGT), total bilirubin (TBil), albumin(ALB) and international normalized ratio (INR) of 324 cases at baseline were 27.86 ± 20.02 U/L, 29.33 ± 21.02 U/L, 59.93 ± 18.96 U / L, 39.00 ± 54.44 U/L, 9.46 ± 4.58 µmol / L, 40.64 ± 4.13 g / L and 1.02 ± 0.10. Of which, ALT was > than the upper limit of normal (> ULN), accounting for 15.7% (51/324). ALT and AST > ULN, accounting for 10.5% (34/324). ALP > ULN, accounting for 1.2% (4/324). ALP and GGT > ULN, accounting for 0.9% (3/324). INR > ULN was lowest, accounting for 0.6% (2/324). There were no statistically significant differences (P > 0.05) in ALT [(21.5 vs. 26) U / L, P = 0.093], ALP [(57 vs.59) U/L, P = 0.674], and GGT [(24 vs.28) U/L, P = 0.101] between the severe group and the mild group. There were statistically significant differences in AST (23 U/L vs. 34 U/L, P < 0.01), TBil (10.75 vs. 8.05 µmol / L, P < 0.01), ALB (35.79 ± 4.75 vs. 41.07 ± 3.80 g/L, P < 0.01), and INR (1.00 vs. 1.04, P < 0.01). Conclusion: The baseline liver biochemical parameters of 324 cases with novel coronavirus pneumonia in Shanghai area was comparatively lower and the liverinjury degree was mild, and the bile duct cell damage was rare.