Comparison of clinical, laboratory, and radiological characteristics between SARS-CoV-2 infection and community-acquired pneumonia caused by influenza virus: A cross-sectional retrospective study.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is the most important global public health issue that we currently face. We aimed to explore the clinical features of patients with COVID-19 and compared them with those of hospitalized community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) patients caused by influenza virus during the same period.From Jan 1, to Mar 4, 2020, patients with COVID-19 or CAP caused by influenza virus who were admitted to the First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University were consecutively screened for enrollment.A total of 35 COVID-19 patients and 22 CAP patients caused by influenza virus were included in this study. Most of COVID-19 patients had characteristics of familial clustering (63%), however, in the other group, there was no similar finding. The percentages of patients with a high fever (the highest recorded temperature was ≥39.0°C; 11% vs 45% [COVID-19 vs CAP groups, respectively]), dyspnea (9% vs 59%), leukocytosis (3% vs 32%), elevated C-reactive protein concentrations (>10 mg/L, 48% vs 86%), elevated procalcitonin levels (>0.1 ng/ml, 15% vs 73%), PaO2/FiO2 <200 mm Hg (4% vs 22%), and infiltration on imaging (29% vs 68%) in the COVID-19 group were less than those same indices in the hospitalized CAP patients caused by influenza virus. Ground-glass opacity with reticular pattern (63%) and interlobular septal thickening (71%) in chest CT were commonly observed in the COVID-19 group.COVID-19 and CAP caused by influenza virus appear to share some similarities in clinical manifestaions but they definitely have major distinctions. Influenza infection remains a health problem even during COVID-19 pandemic.

Clinical characteristics of 199 discharged patients with COVID-19 in Fujian Province: A multicenter retrospective study between January 22nd and February 27th, 2020.

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has quickly spread throughout the country and the world since first broke out in Wuhan, China. The outbreak that started from January 22, 2020, in Fujian Province has been controlled as the number of indigenous cases has not increased since March. We aimed to describe the clinical characteristics of patients with COVID-19 in Fujian Province, China. METHODS: In this retrospective, multicenter study, we collected and analyzed the epidemiological, clinical, and laboratory data of all cases confirmed by nucleic acid tests in five designated hospitals in Fujian Province between January 22 and February 27, 2020. All patients were followed up until discharge. COVID-19 severity was classified as mild, moderate, severe, or critical. RESULTS: Of 199 discharged patients with COVID-19, 105 patients were male, with a median age of 46.3 years, and 17 patients were severe, and 5 patients were critical on admission. Hypertension and diabetes were the most common comorbidities. The symptoms at illness onset were mainly fever (76.4%), cough (60.8%), and myalgia or fatigue (27.6%). A total of 96.5% of patients had abnormal imaging findings on chest computed tomography. Lymphopenia (37.2%) and hypoxemia (13.6%) were observed. Acute respiratory distress syndrome and respiratory failure occurred in 9 patients (4.5%) and 8 patients (4.0%) respectively. One patient died and the others were cured and discharged with the median hospital stay of 19 days. Old age was negatively correlated with lymphocyte count (r = - 0.296, p < 0.001) and oxygenation index (r = - 0.263, p = 0.001). Bivariate regression analysis revealed that old age (≥ 75 years), hypertension, diabetes, and lymphopenia were correlated with the severity of COVID-19. CONCLUSIONS: Patients in Fujian Province were mostly nonsevere cases with mild or moderate symptoms, and had a lower mortality than patients in Wuhan (4.3%-15%). Older age, hypertension, diabetes, and lymphopenia were risk factors for severity of COVID-19.