Clinical features, severity, and outcomes of patients with COVID-19 infection: A follow-up study

Few epidemiological investigations explored disease outcomes in patients with COVID-19 in Iraqi Kurdistan. The association of clinical and epidemiological characteristics of COVID-19 patients with outcomes was examined in this study. Patients who were diagnosed with COVID-19 from a private clinic were followed up until recovery or death between 15th August and 20th October 2020. The mean age of the COVID-19 patients was 47.12 (6-90 years). Fatigue (76.15%), myalgia (66.53%), fever (65.33%), cough (62.53%), sweating (58.52%), and headache (56.11%) were the most prevalent symptoms. Most of the patients had mild severity (350, 70.14%) followed by moderate (74, 14.83%), severe (46, 9.22%), and critical (29, 5.81%). The case fatality rate (CFR) was 5.41% (n=27) and was significantly increased with increasing severity; mild (0.0%), moderate (1.35%), severe (10.87%), and critical (72.41%; P<0.001). The patients with the critical and severe situations were significantly older; medians: 67 vs 55 years compared to those patients with moderate and mild situations; medians: 51 vs 45 years; P<0.001. The patients who died were significantly older compared to recovered patients; medians: 65 vs 46 years; P<0.001, respectively. The disease severity was the only factor to predict mortality in patients with COVID-19 disease. Concerning the severity, being older, having anorexia, fatigue, pleurisy, diarrhea, fever, sweating, shortness of breath, and being male were determined to be predictors of severity in COVID-19 patients. The incidence rate of severe/critical conditions was significantly increased with increasing age. The older age was determined to be a predictor for higher mortality.