Clinical characteristics, predictors of symptomatic coronavirus disease 2019 and duration of hospitalisation in a cohort of 632 Patients in Lagos State, Nigeria

OBJECTIVE: The clinical spectrum of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection is still evolving This study describes the clinical characteristics and investigates factors that predict symptomatic presentation and duration of hospitalisation in a cohort of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients managed in Lagos, Nigeria METHODOLOGY: This was a retrospective assessment of patients hospitalised with COVID-19 disease in six dedicated facilities in Lagos, Nigeria, between April 1(st) and May 31(st) 2020 Participants were individuals with laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection The outcome measures were presence of symptoms and duration of hospitalisation Demographic and comorbidity data were also obtained Statistical analysis was done using STATA 15 0 software, with P < 0 05 being considered statistically significant RESULTS: A total of 632 cases were analysed The median age was 40 years (IQR: 30 5-49);male patients accounted for 60 1% About 63% of patients were asymptomatic at presentation Among the symptomatic, the most common symptoms were cough (47 4%) and fever (39 7%) The most common comorbidities were hypertension (16 8%) and diabetes (5 2%) The median duration of hospitalisation was 10 days (IQR: 8-14) Comorbidities increased the odds of presenting with symptoms 1 6-fold (P = 0 025) for one comorbidity and 3 2-fold (P = 0 005) for ≥2 comorbidities Individuals aged ≥50 years were twice as likely to be hospitalised for more than 14 days compared to individuals aged <50 years (P = 0 016) CONCLUSION: Most individuals had no symptoms with comorbidities increasing the likelihood of symptoms Older age was associated with longer duration of hospitalisation Age and comorbidities should be used for COVID-19 triaging for efficient resource allocation