Epidemiological and clinical presentations of hospitalized COVID-19 patients in Libya: An initial report from Africa.
Travel Med Infect Dis
; 42: 102064, 2021.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1189033
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
The first case of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Libya was diagnosed in March 2020. We aimed to determine the epidemiological, clinical, and laboratory characteristics of COVID-19 in Libya.METHOD:
In this retrospective descriptive study, we analyzed the demographics, initial clinical presentation, history, comorbidities, laboratory findings, complications, and outcomes of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 at several centers in the Western part of Libya between March 24, 2020, and December 3, 2020.RESULTS:
The study included 811 (67.2%) men and 396 (32.8%) women. The median (interquartile range [IQR]) age was 56 (40-64). A total of 173 (14.3%) patients developed respiratory distress syndrome, while 70 (5.8%) developed circulatory shock and hypotension; 190 (15.7%) were admitted to the intensive care unit. Acute cardiac injury occurred in 27 (2.2%) patients, and 45 (3.7%) developed arrhythmia. Acute kidney injury occurred in 44 (3.6%) patients. Of the patients admitted during the study period, 149 (12.3%) died. The predominant comorbidities ordered in a descending manner were as follows; diabetes mellitus, presented 490 (40.6%), hypertension in 414 (34.3%), chronic kidney disease in 114 (9.4%), and lung diseases in 103 (8.5%). The total white blood cell, neutrophil; monocyte; D-dimer; creatinine kinase; creatine kinase-MB; creatinine; total bilirubin; alanine and aspartate aminotransferase; and hypersensitive troponin were increased among non-survivors, whereas lymphocyte and platelet counts were decreased among non-survivors.CONCLUSION:
This is the first report of the clinical presentations and laboratory findings in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in Libya. Libyan authorities must implement several restrictions to control the pandemic. However, incoming international travelers pose a challenge to the local authorities, especially with the recent discovery of new variants.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
COVID-19
/
Hospitalization
Type of study:
Diagnostic study
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
Topics:
Variants
Limits:
Adult
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
Country/Region as subject:
Africa
Language:
English
Journal:
Travel Med Infect Dis
Journal subject:
Communicable Diseases
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
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