Retrospective cohort study examining the clinical features and risk factors for the development of COVID-19

Abstract

Objective: A global epidemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID 19) has been occurring since December 2019 from Wuhan, China. At Jiangan Fangcang Shelter Hospital in Wuhan, China, a retrospective cohort research was carried out to compile the clinical features of COVID-19 patients and investigate the risk factors influencing the length of the illness. Methods: A retrospective analysis of the clinical features of 409 COVID-19 patients was conducted. We outline each patient's clinical features and the distribution of their transfer or discharge times. After that, we used univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis to find possible risk variables for either mortality or the progression of COVID-19 from non-severe to severe. Results: All patients had a median illness duration of 23 days (IQR 19–28). The patient's primary symptoms were fatigue (21.5%), cough (74.3%), and fever (95.6%). The most common comorbidities were heart disease (12.5%), diabetes (17.6%), and hypertension (30.6%). Old age, the number of symptoms, and the combination of heart disease, pulmonary disease, and hypertension were all linked to the illness's development, according to the univariate Cox regression analysis. The results of the multivariate Cox regression analysis indicated that heart disease (HR: 2.650; 95% CI: 1.079-6.510; P = 0.034), old age (HR: 7.294; 95% CI: 1.442-36.888; P = 0.016), and the combination of hypertension (HR: 2.230; 95% CI: 1.090 4.562; P = 0.028) were independent risk factors for the progression of COVID-19. Conclusions: The patient's age and the co-occurrence of heart disease and hypertension were separate risk factors for COVID-19 progression. Patients with these risk characteristics should be treated with caution.