Clinical characteristics of asymptomatic and symptomatic COVID-19 patients in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia

• Published in: Journal of infection and public health Vol. 14; no. 1; pp. 6 - 11
• Main Authors: AlJishi, Jumana Mansour, Alhajjaj, Alya Hassan, Alkhabbaz, Fatimah Lateef, AlAbduljabar, Taaweel Hussain, Alsaif, Ahmad, Alsaif, Hussain, Alomran, Kawther Saeed, Aljanobi, Ghada Ali, Alghawi, Zainab, Alsaif, Mohammed, Al-Tawfiq, Jaffar A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01.01.2021; The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences; Elsevier
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Asymptomatic; Clinical presentation; COVID-19; COVID-19 - epidemiology; COVID-19 - mortality; COVID-19 - pathology; Female; Hospitalization; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Organ Dysfunction Scores; SARS-CoV-2; Saudi Arabia - epidemiology; Survival Analysis; Young Adult; Saudi Arabia; COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; Asymptomatic; Hospitalization; Clinical presentation
• ISSN: 1876-0341; 1876-035X; 1876-035X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jiph.2020.11.002

The first case of COVID-19 infection in Saudi Arabia was reported in Qatif on March 2nd, 2020. Here, we describe the clinical characteristics of the initial COVID-19 patients in that area. This is an observational study describing the clinical presentation, radiographic and laboratory data of COVID-19 cases. From March 1st, 2020 to April 5th, 2020 we identified a total of 82 adult COVID-19 patients. The median age of the patients was 50 years, with a range of 30 to 60 years and most of patients were female 54 (65.9%). Of all the patients, 29 (35.4%) were contacts and 43 (52.4%) were returning travelers, mainly from Iraq (65% of the total returning travelers). Comorbidities were present in 50% of patients, G6PD deficiency in 33%, hypertension in 27%, and diabetes mellitus in 26%. Chest radiographs were abnormal in 46% of symptomatic and 15.5% of asymptomatic patients (P value = 0.0035). Of all patients, 4 (4.87%) required intensive care admission. There was no significant difference in time to negative RT-PCR with mean days to negativity of 13.6 and 16.9 for asymptomatic and symptomatic group, respectively (P value = 0.42). In the initial Epicenter of the COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia, the majority of the patients were asymptomatic and were returning travelers. Comorbidities were present in nearly half of the patients.