RESUMEN
Hypertension is the most common modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. In the last two decades, the guidelines have evolved tremendously from areas with no recommendations for screening or treatment to targeted recommendations for some at-risk groups. We sought to go through the literature that provided guidelines for the management of hypertension at any point in time over the last 22 years from 2000 to 2022. We searched four databases: PubMed, Embase, Google Scholar, and Cochrane, using specified search terms. The keywords used were "hypertension" and "guidelines." We combined them using the Boolean operators (AND, OR) and searched for articles. A total of 2461 publications were initially identified; 348 publications were excluded after screening for full-text availability. The full-text articles were further filtered based on title and abstract screening. Following this, a total of 1443 articles were excluded. The remaining 670 full-text articles were assessed for eligibility. Of the 670 full-text articles, 480 were excluded based on exclusion criteria, and following the full-text article screening, 190 articles met the final inclusion criteria. Most of these guideline evolutions concerned establishing and adjusting thresholds for the subgroups of the elderly population and patients with diabetic kidney disease, chronic kidney disease, and stroke. Furthermore, the medications of choice are now guided by the stage of disease, presence or absence of comorbidities, and other relevant information, as opposed to ethnicity, which was previously a heavy yardstick for medication choice.
RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Knowledge of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection is unfolding. Insights from patient features in different environments are therefore vital to understanding the disease and improving outcomes. AIM: This study aimed to describe patient characteristics associated with symptomatic presentation and duration of hospitalisation in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients managed in Abuja. SETTING: The study was conducted in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria. METHODS: This was a retrospective study of 201 COVID-19 patients hospitalised in the Asokoro District Hospital COVID-19 Isolation and Treatment Centre between April 2020 and July 2020. Demographic and clinical data were obtained and outcomes assessed were symptom presentation and duration of hospitalisation. RESULTS: Patients' median age was 39.3 years (interquartile range [IQR]: 26-52); 65.7% were male and 33.8% were health workers. Up to 49.2% of the patients were overweight or obese, 68.2% had mild COVID-19 at presentation and the most common symptoms were cough (38.3%) and fever (33.8%). Hypertension (22.9%) and diabetes mellitus (7.5%) were the most common comorbidities. The median duration of hospitalisation was 14.4 days (IQR: 9.5-19). Individuals with secondary and tertiary education had higher percentage symptoms presentation (8.5% and 34%, respectively), whilst a history of daily alcohol intake increased the length of hospital stay by 129.0%. CONCLUSION: Higher educational levels were linked with symptom presentation in COVID-19 patients and that daily alcohol intake was significantly associated with longer hospital stay. These findings highlight the importance of public education on COVID-19 for symptom recognition, early presentation and improved outcomes.
