Results
Total of 71 COVID-19 confirmed consecutive cases who were admitted to hospital over 2 week period were included. Patient demographics are displayed in Table 1. Majority (75%) of patients were ≥65 years old, 58% were men and the source of infection was unidentified in the majority of cases (77%). Likely the transmission was human to human as no animal contact was recorded. Five patients reported that they had contact with a symptomatic family member, 3 returned to the UK from a holiday (2 from Spain and 1 from a Mediterranean cruise). Eight patients were admitted for other medical conditions and developed symptoms and tested positive while in-hospital. Most of the patients (85%) had pre-existing comorbidities, with hypertension (45%) most common, followed by cardiovascular disease (34%), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (33%) and diabetes (23%). Presenting symptoms and clinical observations on the day of admission are displayed in Table 2. Respiratory symptoms were the most common presenting complaint such as fever (59% of patients), shortness of breath (56%) and cough (55%). Gastrointestinal symptoms were the second most common such as diarrhoea (10%) and abdominal pain (7%). Most patients (66%) were hypoxic and required oxygen therapy on admission. Initial laboratory results and imaging are displayed in Table 3. Leucocytosis associated with lymphopenia was the most common laboratory abnormality. Opacifications in chest X-rays were demonstrated in 32 patients. Seven patients had a CT-chest due to worsening of their condition. All of the CT scans demonstrated ground glass changes. All patients received supportive treatment but no specific antiviral therapy was administered. Available outcome data is displayed in Table 4. Patients who died ranged from 66-90 years old and were none significantly older than those who have recovered and been discharged (average age 78.0 v 69.2 years, p=0.15) but they had a significantly higher clinical frailty scores (5.75 v 3.36, p=0.005).