Clinical characteristics of 228 hospitalized patients with COVID-19

Objective: To describe the epidemiological and clinical features of coronavious disease 2019 (COVID-19). Methods: The data of 228 inpatients diagnosed as COVID-19 in the Third Hospital of Wuhan from January 27, 2020, to February 29, 2020 were collected, and their clinical characteristics and outcomes were analyzed. Results: The average age of inpatients was 58 years old. Common symptoms included fever (88.2%), fatigue (69.7%), and dry cough (59.2%). There were patients with gastrointestinal discomfort as the first symptom (7.9%). In severe patients, lymphocytes decreased significantly, albumin decreased, D-dimer increased, lactate dehydrogenase and creatine kinase isoenzyme increased (all P <0.05). Chest CT of all patients showed patchy shadows or frosted glass opacity of both lungs. Severe patients were more likely to have comorbidities ( P <0.05), and more likely to have complications including acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) (19 cases, 8.3%), arrhythmia (13 cases, 5.7%), and shock (5 cases, 2.2%), and 7% COVID⁃19 cases were transferred to the ICU due to the worsening of the disease, and the patients' mortality rate was 4.4%. There were no specific drugs for treatment, and supportive treatment was the mainstay. Conclusion: Severe patients had differences in age of onset, underlying diseases, symptoms, laboratory tests, and complications, etc., and needed to be identified earlier. © 2021, Editorial Board of Medical Journal of Wuhan University. All right reserved.