Abstract
Bangladesh is in the rising phase of the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). However, the scientific literature on clinical manifestations of COVID-19 patients from Bangladesh is virtually absent. This is the first study aimed to report the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of patients with COVID-19 in Bangladesh. We conducted a cross-sectional study at three dedicated COVID-19 hospitals. A total of 103 RT-PCR confirmed non-critical COVID-19 patients were enrolled. Sociodemographic factors, underlying disease conditions, clinical symptoms and vital signs including oxygen saturation were documented and analyzed. The median age of the patients was 37 years (IQR: 31-53); most of the patients (71.8%) were male. Mild, moderate and severe illness were present in 74.76%, 9.71% and 15.53% of patients respectively. More than half (52.4%) patients had a co-morbidity, with hypertension being the most common (34%), followed by diabetes (21.4%) and Ischemic heart disease (9.7%). Fever (78.6%), weakness (68%) and cough (44.7%) were the most common clinical manifestations. Other common symptoms included loss of appetite (37.9%), difficulty breathing (37.9%), altered sensation of taste or smell (35.0%), headache (32%) and bodyache (32%). The median time from onset of symptom to attending hospitals was 7 days (IQR 4-10). This study will help both the clinicians and epidemiologists to understand the magnitude and clinical spectrum of COVID-19 patients in Bangladesh.
Competing Interest Statement
The authors have declared no competing interest.
Funding Statement
No funding was associated with this work
Author Declarations
I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained.
Yes
The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below:
The institutional review board of Biomedical Research Foundation, Bangladesh approved the study protocol (Ref. no: BRF/ERB/2020/003).
All necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived.
Yes
I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance).
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I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines and uploaded the relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material as supplementary files, if applicable.
Yes
Data Availability
Not applicable