The study had 127 patients in all, 69 (54%) of whom were men and 58 (46%) of whom were women. Patients' ages varied from 30 to 70 years old, with the 61 to 70 age group accounting for the biggest percentage of patients' ages. 83 patients, or 65%, were from rural areas. The majority of patients (72%, n = 92) were nonsmokers; 28 (22%) were smokers; and 7 (6%) were former smokers. (Table 1).
Table 1: Socio-demographic characteristics.
Gender
|
N (%)
|
Male
|
69 (54)
|
Female
|
58 (46)
|
Age
|
|
≤30
|
6 (5)
|
31-40
|
10 (8)
|
41-50
|
8 (6)
|
51-60
|
27 (21)
|
61-70
|
40 (31)
|
≥71
|
36 (28)
|
Alcohol
|
|
Yes
|
2 (2)
|
No
|
125 (98)
|
Smoking
|
|
Non smoker
|
92 (72)
|
Smoker
|
28 (22)
|
Former smoker
|
7 (6)
|
Residency
|
|
Urban
|
44 (35)
|
Rural
|
83 (65)
|
Table 2 depicts clinical features. Dyspnea (86%), fatigue (84%), cough (79%), fever (69%), muscular discomfort (42%), anorexia (38%), sputum production (36%), joint pain (35%), headache (31%), and vomiting (22%) were the most prevalent symptoms. Comorbidities were present in 98 (77%) of the patients, with hypertension being the most prevalent (60%) and diabetes coming in second (41%), then heart disease (22%). According to an analysis of patient data, the leading cause of death was severe respiratory failure (64%), followed by cardiac arrest (23%), and septic shock (13%) in that order.
Table 2: Clinical characteristics of the study population.
Clinical characteristics
|
N (%)
|
Fever
|
88 (69)
|
Cough
|
100 (79)
|
Dyspnea
|
109 (86)
|
Nausea
|
24 (19)
|
Vomiting
|
28 (22)
|
Diarrhea
|
19 (15)
|
Myalgia
|
53 (42)
|
Arthralgia
|
44 (35)
|
Headache
|
39 (31)
|
Fatigue
|
107 (84)
|
Runny nose
|
6 (5)
|
Sore throat
|
23 (18)
|
Rash
|
10 (8)
|
Sputum
|
46 (36)
|
Abdominal pain
|
20 (16)
|
Chest pain
|
15 (12)
|
Anorexia
|
48 (38)
|
Dizziness
|
3 (2)
|
Comorbidities
|
|
Hepatitis
|
3 (2)
|
Asthma
|
8 (6)
|
Respiratory disorder
|
8 (6)
|
Renal failure
|
13 (10)
|
Cardiac disorder
|
28 (22)
|
Diabetes
|
52 (41)
|
Hypertension
|
76 (60)
|
Cause of death
|
|
Acute respiratory failure
|
30 (64)
|
Cardiac arrest
|
11 (23)
|
Septic shock
|
6 (13)
|
When examining the association between a patient's clinical outcome—whether it resulted in death or discharge from the hospital—and the presence of various clinical symptoms, we did not discover any strong statistically significant relationships between the different clinical symptoms, where the proportions of clinical symptoms among the patients who died and those who were discharged from the hospital converged. However, there was a strong statistically significant correlation between the presence of anorexia and the incidence of death in patients, with 51% of the deceased patients having these symptoms, compared to only 31% of the patients who had these symptoms but survived, making the p value for this relationship 0.031. (Table 3).
Table 3: Relationship between clinical symptoms and clinical outcome.
Clinical symptoms
|
Clinical outcome
|
P value
|
Death
|
Alive
|
Fever
|
32 (68)
|
45 (69)
|
0.897
|
Fatigue
|
39 (83)
|
55 (85)
|
0.142
|
Cough
|
33 (70)
|
54 (83)
|
0.107
|
Sputum
|
13 (28)
|
25 (38)
|
0.233
|
Dyspnea
|
39 (83)
|
57 (88)
|
0.482
|
Chest pain
|
6 (13)
|
7 (11)
|
0.745
|
Sore throat
|
8 (17)
|
11 (17)
|
0.989
|
Myalgia
|
21 (45)
|
29 (45)
|
0.995
|
Arthralgia
|
18 (38)
|
23 (35)
|
0.752
|
Headache
|
12 (26)
|
23 (35)
|
0.267
|
Dizziness
|
0 (0.00)
|
3 (5)
|
0.135
|
Nausea
|
9 (19)
|
15 (23)
|
0.617
|
Vomiting
|
10 (21)
|
17 (26)
|
0.551
|
Anorexia
|
24 (51)
|
20 (31)
|
0.030*
|
Diarrhea
|
8 (17)
|
10 (15)
|
0.816
|
Runny nose
|
2 (4)
|
4 (6)
|
0.660
|
Abdominal pain
|
6 (13)
|
14 (22)
|
0.232
|
*Statistically significant.
According to the study's findings, the average temperature was 37.27°c for those who were discharged from the hospital and 37.78°c for those who had passed away. When we compare the average temperatures of the discharged patients and the deceased, we find that (P-Value = 0.393) is higher than (0.05), indicating that there are no statistically significant differences between the two groups. Different vital signs and electrolytes between patients who died and those who were released from the hospital showed comparable outcomes. The average respiratory rate in patients who were discharged from the hospital was found to be 28.07, while the average number of breaths in patients who passed away was found to be 31.66. By comparing the average number of breaths in discharged and deceased patients, we find that (P-Value = 0.038) is lower than (0.05), indicating that there are statistically significant differences between the average number of breaths in discharged and passed away patients. Additionally, potassium, urine, AST, and creatinine showed these significant statistical differences. (Table 4).
Table 4: relationship between clinical signs/laboratory values and clinical outcome.
Clinical signs
|
Clinical outcome
|
P value
|
Alive
|
Death
|
Temperature
|
37.27 (±3.94)
|
37.78 (±0.79)
|
0.393
|
Pulse
|
97.83 (±17.98)
|
95.24 (±21.17)
|
0.491
|
Respiratory rate
|
28.07 (±5.91)
|
31.66 (±11.19)
|
0.038*
|
O2 saturation
|
79.59 (±12.52)
|
74.87 (±13.66)
|
0.063
|
WBCs count
|
10587 (±6033)
|
11913 (±7393)
|
0.229
|
Neutrophils count
|
8516 (±4448)
|
10477 (±6779)
|
0.069
|
Lymphocyte count
|
1803 (±3320)
|
1113 (±1186)
|
0.177
|
Platelet count
|
235.21 (±92.67)
|
241.72 (±114.79)
|
0.751
|
Hemoglobin
|
11.76 (±2.58)
|
11.34 (±2.68)
|
0.407
|
Glucose level
|
189.70 (±90.88)
|
189.37 (±150.9)
|
0.989
|
Potassium
|
3.98 (±0.60)
|
10.86 (±0.94)
|
0.001*
|
Sodium
|
137.10 (±3.88)
|
138.71 (±5.49)
|
0.078
|
Calcium
|
1.12 (±0.28)
|
1.13 (±0.18)
|
0.889
|
Pa O2
|
64.99 (±22.83)
|
65.07 (±51.74)
|
0.994
|
Pa CO2
|
31.14 (±9.31)
|
30.20 (±9.00)
|
0.646
|
HCO-3
|
21.46 (±4.15)
|
19.85 (±5.03)
|
0.128
|
Ph
|
7.45 (±0.09)
|
7.43 (±0.14)
|
0.377
|
D-dimer
|
2.11 (±3.70)
|
2.07 (±3.32)
|
0.958
|
ALT
|
21 (±1.73)
|
25.75 (±13.63)
|
0.574
|
AST
|
13.50 (±4.95)
|
84.50 (±81.71)
|
0.001*
|
Urea
|
54.97 (±35.54)
|
92 (±78.05)
|
0.003*
|
Creatinine
|
1.40 (±0.65)
|
2.39 (±2.58)
|
0.005*
|
CRP
|
67.80 (±55.82)
|
79.48 (±67)
|
0.337
|
ESR
|
67.80 (±29.34)
|
56.20 (±30.66)
|
0.469
|
CK
|
220.61 (±413.96)
|
301.72 (±549.55)
|
0.557
|
*Statistically significant.