Characteristics and outcomes of COVID-19 patients admitted to hospital with and without respiratory symptoms.
Heliyon
; 10(10): e29591, 2024 May 30.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38779000
ABSTRACT
Background:
COVID-19 is primarily known as a respiratory illness; however, many patients present to hospital without respiratory symptoms. The association between non-respiratory presentations of COVID-19 and outcomes remains unclear. We investigated risk factors and clinical outcomes in patients with no respiratory symptoms (NRS) and respiratory symptoms (RS) at hospital admission.Methods:
This study describes clinical features, physiological parameters, and outcomes of hospitalised COVID-19 patients, stratified by the presence or absence of respiratory symptoms at hospital admission. RS patients had one or more of cough, shortness of breath, sore throat, runny nose or wheezing; while NRS patients did not.Results:
Of 178,640 patients in the study, 86.4 % presented with RS, while 13.6 % had NRS. NRS patients were older (median age NRS 74 vs RS 65) and less likely to be admitted to the ICU (NRS 36.7 % vs RS 37.5 %). NRS patients had a higher crude in-hospital case-fatality ratio (NRS 41.1 % vs. RS 32.0 %), but a lower risk of death after adjusting for confounders (HR 0.88 [0.83-0.93]).Conclusion:
Approximately one in seven COVID-19 patients presented at hospital admission without respiratory symptoms. These patients were older, had lower ICU admission rates, and had a lower risk of in-hospital mortality after adjusting for confounders.
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Language:
En
Journal:
Heliyon
Year:
2024
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country: