An observational study to determine the clinical course of asymptomatic and mildly symptomatic COVID-19-positive patients admitted to a tertiary care centre in Puducherry

ABSTRACT

Background: Severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus2 (SARSCoV2) disease (COVID-19) has spread nationwide including union territory of Puducherry. Methods: Consecutive asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic COVID-19 patients admitted to the COVID-19 ward were included in the study. Demographic details, following of social norms, contact-exposure history, presence of co-morbidities, vital parameters, clinical symptoms and signs, development of new symptoms, progression and outcome of study patients are reported. Results: Six hundred and forty two patients were included for final analysis. Most of symptomatic patients did not use face mask (87%) and did not follow social distancing (84.1%) or hand hygiene (91.3%). Out of mildly symptomatic patients, 12 become moderately or severely symptomatic and were shifted to intensive care unit. All these patients were male, aged more than 50 years with co-morbidities. Conclusions: Wearing face mask, social distancing and hand hygiene can decrease disease severity. Male patients with co-morbidities and old age are at higher risk of progression to moderate or severe COVID-19 infection. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Journal of Clinical & Scientific Research is the property of Sri Venkateswara Institute of Medical Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)