Abstract

Context: A novel Coronavirus disease (COVID 19) emerged in Wuhan, China in late 2019 which caused severe respiratory symptoms and eventually death. According to reports the virus emerged from wet food markets of Wuhan. However, these claims are still contested. The infection spread quickly to neighboring countries and eventually to Europe, Australia and Americas as well causing a full blown pandemic.

Aim: Very little is known about the clinical presentations, treatment and outcomes of COVID 19. There have been many studies from US and China regarding COVID 19, but in our region very less has been studied and reported.

Methods and Materials: In this retrospective study we analyzed 100 COVID 19 positive patients who were admitted in East Jeddah General Hospital. We analyzed data from  hospital electronic records for each admitted patient who was swabbed for nasopharyngeal aspirate and tested positive through Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for COVID 19. Patient demographics, Presenting symptoms, Comorbidities, Imaging features, laboratory investigations and outcomes were studied for each patient. Data was put in Microsoft Excel ® Ver 2013. Results were calculated and drawn against each column.

Results: The median age was 41 years old. The most common presenting symptoms were cough, fever and dyspnea.  Hypertension and Diabetes were two main comorbidities associated with COVID 19. Most of patients in our case series were expatriates. 44% of the patients had normal chest X rays or with very subtle findings. Patients who needed mechanical ventilation demonstrated significant mortality rate.

Conclusion: Our study demonstrated a very young median age as compared to studies performed elsewhere in USA and China. Imaging pattern is very varied and cannot be solely relied upon. Upper respiratory symptoms are unusual in our patients. Those requiring mechanical ventilation have very high mortality rates. Till a comprehensive vaccine and treatment is available preventive measures like social distancing, masks and hand washing remain the main tool to fight against COVID 19.