Epidemiological, clinical, and laboratory findings for patients of different age groups with confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in a hospital in Saudi Arabia.

BACKGROUND: Although the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic continues to rage worldwide, clinical and laboratory studies of this disease have been limited in many countries. We investigated the epidemiologic, clinical, and laboratory findings of COVID-19 infected patients to identify the effective indicators correlated with the disease. METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted at King Abdullah Hospital in Bisha Province, Saudi Arabia, from March 20 to June 30, 2020. Patients of different age groups were confirmed as having COVID-19 infection using a real-time polymerase chain reaction. The demographic, clinical, and laboratory data of the patients were statistically analyzed. RESULTS: Of the 132 patients, 85 were male and 47 were female, with a mean age of 50.9 years (SD±16.7). The patients were elderly (n = 29) and adults (n = 103). Of these, 54 (40.9%) had comorbidities, (25%) were admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU), and 12 (9.1%) died. On admission, the main clinical manifestations were fever (84.1%), cough (64.4%), shortness of breath (25%), chest pain (20.5%), and fatigue (18.2%). In all patients, increased neutrophils and decreased lymphocytes were observed. Patients' lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) was elevated. C-reactive protein (CRP) was elevated in 48.5%, D-dimer in 43.2%, and the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) in 40.9% of patients. The elderly showed higher neutrophil (p = 0.011) and lower lymphocyte (p = 0.009) counts than adults. Glucose, creatine kinase-MB, LDH, bilirubin, D-dimer, and ESR were significantly higher in the elderly than in the adults. The COVID-19 death group had a higher leucocyte count (p = 0.036), and higher urea (p = 0.029) and potassium (p = 0.022) than the recovered group but had a lower hemoglobin concentration (p = 0.018). A significant association was determined between COVID-19 death and the presence of cardiovascular disease (χ2(1) = 16.297, p<0.001), hypertension (χ2(1) = 12.034, p = 0.001), renal failure (χ2(1) = 3.843, p = 0. 05), old age (t (130) = 4.9, p <0.001), and ICU admission (χ2(1) = 17.6 (1), p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Investigating some of the laboratory and clinical parameters could help assess the disease progression, risk of mortality, and follow up patients who could progress to a fatal condition.

Morbidity pattern and outcome of patients admitted in a coronary care unit: a report from a secondary hospital in southern region, Saudi Arabia.

Background: There is limited information about the clinical profile and outcome on patients admitted to a coronary care unit (CCU) in Saudi Arabia is available. Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate reasons for admission, clinical characteristics, outcome and predictors of outcome in CCU patients. Materials and methods: The data of 392 patients admitted to the CCU of a secondary care centre in southern region of Saudi Arabia from 1 January 2017 to 31 December 2017 were collected. Data that were extracted from the patients included demographics, admission diagnosis and outcome. Results: A total of 392 patients, comprising 305 (77.81%) males and 87 (22.19%) females, were admitted to the CCU. Their mean age was 64.62 ± 15.7. The most common cause of admission was acute coronary syndrome (63.3%), the majority (97.2%) of whom were above 50 years of age (Table 2). Thirty-one patients died. This figure accounted for 7.7% of all the patients admitted to the CCU and 23.4% of the patients that were fully managed in the CCU. The majority of the patients that died were those with cardiac arrest (12 out of 16). Acute coronary syndrome (p = 0.029), cardiac arrest (p = 0.000) and age greater than 50 years (p = 0.000) were associated with death in the study patients. However, cardiac arrest (p = 0.002) and age greater than 50 years (p = 0.017) were independent predictors of death in the study patients. Conclusion: The reasons for admission to the CCU were acute coronary syndrome, heart failure and cardiac arrest. Mortality among CCU patient was comparable to reports elsewhere. Cardiac arrest and age greater than 50 years were independent predictors of death.

Pattern, duration of stay, and outcomes of medical admissions: a report from teaching community hospital in Assir region, Saudi Arabia.

Background: Population-based studies are the gold standard to understand the burden of different diseases, plan health care policy and resource allocation, and provide an accurate estimate of disease several disease indices including mortality. However, population-based studies are difficult to undertake in a resource-limited situation where no robust data bases and disease registries are available. Therefore, hospital-based cohorts may be used to inform about the community health. Objectives: We sought to study the pattern of disease causing admission, hospital stay, and outcomes of medical admissions to King Abdullah Hospital in Bisha in order to inform clinicians, public health professionals, and policymakers about the current status of diseases within the community in Bisha. Methods:This is a cross-sectional study including all adult patients aged above 18 years who were admitted to King Abdullah Hospital in Bisha, Assir region, to medical services including general internal medicine, general cardiology, nephrology, gastroenterology, rheumatology, and neurology during the study period between 1 June 2015 and 31 May 2016. Common causes of hospital admission, outcomes of hospitalization, and length of stay were estimated and the data were presented as frequency and percentage for categorical valve and mean and standard deviation for continuous variables. Results: Cardiovascular diseases including stroke are considered the leading cause of hospital admission in a teaching community hospital in Bisha, Assir region. Diabetes mellitus and hypertension are prevalent comorbidities among hospitalized patients. Majority of admitted patients have improved and discharged home (83.3%). However, 6.7% were transferred to another facility, 4.1% have left against medical advice, and 5.9% died. Conclusion: Health-related data bases and disease registries are urgently needed to precisely estimate the burden of cardiovascular disease in Assir region in Saudi Arabia. Lifestyle changes, healthy diet, aggressive management of hypertension and diabetes within the community, and allocating necessary resources are urgently to combat the growing burden of cardiovascular disease.