Studying the Clinical Data of COVID Positive Patients Admitted to a Tertiary Care Academic Hospital

BACKGROUND: As the time this data was studied in Florida, USA was expecting a surge in number of COVID patients. We are hereby presenting analysis of clinical data collected from the first 30 COVID positive patients admitted to our teaching hospital in Sarasota Florida. METHODS: The present study was conducted at a not-for-profit 839-bed level-2 regional trauma center, level-3 neurointensive intensive care unit (ICU), and comprehensive stroke and cardiovascular center located on Florida's Central Gulf Coast. It was a single-center, retrospective review of the first 30 patients with reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction confirmed 2019-nCoV infection between March and April 2020. Deidentified patient demographic data, abnormal admission laboratory and radiology findings, treatment medications received, need for mechanical ventilation, complications, and final outcome were recorded. RESULTS: A total of 30 patients were included who were admitted during the study period. Majority of the patients (86%) were elderly, males were 57%, and the average age was 70 years (range, 38–90). About 43% had any travel history outside the region and most (83%) had a comorbidity. Fever, cough, and shortness of breath were common presenting symptoms. About 33% of the patients required ICU at presentation. Abnormal imaging on presentation was present in 80% of the patients and 42% of them had nonspecific bilateral opacities. Complications seen included acute hypoxic respiratory failure (43%), renal failure (13%), septic shock (10%), cytokine storm (3%), and cardiomyopathy (3%). All nonsurvivors developed acute respiratory distress syndrome prior to death. Of the survivors, 21 (70%) were relieved and were discharged. CONCLUSION: The most common presenting symptoms included fever, cough, and shortness of breath. Patients who required ICU admission at presentation had a worse prognosis. Those with greater severity of symptoms were mainly elderly patients among which the most common comorbidity was hypertention followed by cardiac disease.