Assessing the Predictive Power of NEWS2 Score in Vaccinated and Non-Vaccinated COVID-19 Inpatients at Omar BONGO ONDIMBA Armed Forces Training Hospital

Abstract

Background: Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, hospitalized patients have been evaluated through clinical examinations and paraclinical tests to inform initial management. The primary aim of this study was to use the NEWS2 score to assess the prognosis of vaccinated and unvaccinated COVID-19 inpatients in the medical department of HIA OBO. Patients and Methods: This retrospective, descriptive, monocentric assessment was carried out for a period of 15 months (September 1, 2021 to January 30, 2022) with a total of 219 patients included. Results: The most represented age group in the study was 40-64 years (43%), with a median age of 60 years. Non-vaccinated patients accounted for 90% of the study population. Comorbidities were present in 71% of patients and mainly consisted of arterial hypertension (40%), diabetes (17.8%), heart disease (8.25%), and COPD (2.7%). The most commonly observed clinical symptoms were asthenia and fever in 72.47% of patients, followed by cough in 65.13%. The NEWS2 score, which was used to assess the prognosis of COVID-19 inpatients, was high in 16% of cases, moderate in 76% of cases, and low in 1% of cases. Conclusion: The results of our study indicate similarities in clinical forms of COVID-19 between unvaccinated and vaccinated patients. Additionally, the NEWS2 score was a valuable tool for assessing patient prognosis upon admission and optimizing therapeutic management.