Characteristics and outcomes of hospitalized adults with COVID-19 in Nepal: a multicenter, prospective cohort study.

INTRODUCTION: There is limited data on clinical course and outcomes of hospitalized adults with COVID-19 in Nepal. Thus, it is imperative to characterize the features of this disease in the domestic context. METHODOLOGY: We identified all adult patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 admitted to five different hospitals in Nepal from June 15 to July 15, 2020. We collected epidemiological, socio-cultural and clinicopathologic data, and stratified the patients based on their symptom status. RESULTS: The study included 220 patients with an overall median age of 31.5 (25-37) years, and 181 (82.3%) were males. 159 (72.3%) were asymptomatic, and 163 (74.1%) were imported cases. Of 217 patients with the available data, 110 (50.7%) reported their annual household income less than 2000 US dollars, and 122 (56.2%) practiced Pranayama (yogic rhythmic breathing techniques) regularly. Eight patients (3.6%) required supplemental oxygen and two patients (0.9%) died. None of the patients who practiced Pranayama regularly required supplemental oxygen. Compared to asymptomatic patients, symptomatic patients had greater proportion of females (31.1% vs. 12.6%, p = 0.001), imported cases (85.2% vs. 69.8%, p = 0.02), illiterates (26.8% vs. 12.1%, p = 0.01), alcohol users (43.3% vs. 24.5%, p = 0.01), and had higher platelet count (253×109/L vs. 185×109/L, p = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: Most cases were imported, asymptomatic young males, with very few deaths. Pranayama practice was associated with protection against severe COVID-19, but more data is needed to substantiate this. The association of platelets count with symptom status in the Nepalese population needs further exploration.

Clinical Profile of Cases of COVID-19 in Far Western Province of Nepal.

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) cause various symptoms such as pneumonia, fever, breathing difficult and lung infection. Till now, total 9 cases are reported in Nepal and 4 cases from this province. This case series is to describe the initial clinical features of COVID-19 among the patients admitted in isolation ward of Seti Provincial Hospital. Oropharyngeal swab was taken from all four patients and sample was transfer to national reference laboratory. Three patients were coming from infected country and one is local transmission. Age of patients was range from 20 to 40 years of age with male preponderance. The patient coming from United Arab Emirate was presented with mild symptoms and others were asymptomatic. More tests, contact tracing and keeping them in quarantine are the necessitated action need to be taken by government of Nepal. Keywords: COVID-19; local transmission; oropharyngeal swab.