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).