Clinical characteristics of confirmed patients with COVID-19: A perspective from tropical region

Introduction: There is a growing number of studies on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) but data analysis focusing on clinical characteristics in the tropics has not been widely carried out. This study aimed to analyze demographic characteristics, symptoms, length of stay, laboratory results at hospital admission, and the final outcome of infected patients in the tropics in confirmed COVID-19 patients. Methods: This retrospective study analyzed medical records including socio-demography, clinical manifestations, length of stay, comorbidities, laboratory data, and disease outcomes of 128 COVID-19 patients hospitalized, with confirmed COVID-19 infection results. Existing data were compared using Fisher's Exact Test or Chi Square (X2), determining the difference in the median value which was then assessed using Mann-Whitney. Results: The mean age of the patients was 50 years, the most common comorbidity was diabetes mellitus 18.8%, the most common symptom was dyspnea 36.7%. Conclusion: In general, studies conducted to analyze the clinical characteristics of confirmed COVID-19 patients show that the clinical picture of COVID-19 patients in the tropics is generally similar to previous studies. Older age, comorbid patients and patients with dyspnea may help identify a higher risk of death. © 2022, Sanglah General Hospital. All rights reserved.

Self-Screening as an Effort to Prevent the Risk of Exposure to COVID-19 in Pregnant Women

BACKGROUND: Pregnant women in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic were listed as one of the vulnerable groups at risk of being infected with COVID-19 because during pregnancy there were changes in gestational physiology and immunological changes in the body’s system. Changes in the immune system that occur during pregnancy can make pregnant women more susceptible to coronavirus infection and more at risk of experiencing severe and fatal disease symptoms. AIM: The purpose of this study was to analyze the effect of self-screening on behavior to prevent the risk of being exposed to COVID-19 in pregnant women. METHODS: This type of research is experimental using a randomized controlled trial research design. This research was conducted for 2 weeks in August–September 2021. The population of this study was pregnant women in Surabaya. The sampling technique used consecutive sampling technique and was divided into two groups, namely, the intervention group with 39 respondents and the control group with 39 respondents. Data analysis used the Wilcoxon signed ranks test with a significance value of p < 0.05. The questionnaire used in this study was designed using a reference and behavioral theory approach with a reliability of 0.89 and a validity test that obtained a Cronbach alpha value of 0.86. RESULTS: The average behavior to prevent the risk of being exposed to COVID-19 before conducting a selfscreening intervention in the intervention group was 1.92 (the behavior to prevent the risk of being exposed to COVID-19 was sufficient) and in the control group was 1.85 (the behavior to prevent the risk of being exposed to COVID-19 was sufficient) with p = 0.596 which means there is no difference in the average behavior to prevent the risk of being exposed to COVID-19, while after being given the self-screening intervention the average prevention behavior in the intervention group is 2.46 (the behavior to prevent the risk of being exposed to COVID-19 is good) and in the control group is 2.05 (the behavior of preventing the risk of being exposed to COVID-19 is good) with p = 0.000 which means that there is a difference in the average behavior of preventing the risk of being exposed to COVID-19 in the intervention group and the control group after being given a self-screening intervention. CONCLUSION: In general, this study proves that self-screening can foster behavior to prevent the risk of being exposed to COVID-19 in pregnant women.