EXPERIENCE OF SEVERE ACUTE RESPIRATORY SYNDROME CORONAVIRUS-2 (SARS-COV-2) - COVID-19 AT A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL IN QUETTA, BALUCHISTAN

Naveed Asif; Shahzeb Ahmed Satti; Alveena Younas; Mehwish Gilani; Waqas Shaikh; Qurat Ul Ain

doi:10.51253/pafmj.v71i6.6422

Authors

Naveed Asif Combined Military Hospital Quetta/National University of Medical Sciences (NUMS) Pakistan
Shahzeb Ahmed Satti Combined Military Hospital Quetta/National University of Medical Sciences (NUMS) Pakistan
Alveena Younas Armed Forces Institute of Pathology/National University of Medical Sciences (NUMS) Pakistan
Mehwish Gilani Armed Forces Institute of Pathology/National University of Medical Sciences (NUMS) Pakistan
Waqas Shaikh Combined Military Hospital Bannu/National University of Medical Sciences (NUMS) Pakistan
Qurat Ul Ain Armed Forces Institute of Pathology/National University of Medical Sciences (NUMS) Pakistan

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.51253/pafmj.v71i6.6422

Keywords:

Coronavirus disease-19, Novel coronavirus pneumonia, Nasopharyngeal swabs, Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction

Abstract

Objective: To share the experience of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2)-COVID-19 at a tertiary care hospital in Quetta, Baluchistan.

Study Design: Cross-sectional study.

Place and Duration of Study: Department of Pathology, Combined Military Hospital Quetta, from Mar to Dec 2020.

Methodology: This study included 14,741 study participants presenting to CMH Quetta with signs and symptoms of Coronavirus Disease-19 (COVID-19) and others undergoing COVID-19 PCR for screening purpose. Nasopharyngeal swab collected from these study participants were tested for COVID-19 viral RNA by real-time Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay.

Results: Out of these 14,741 study participants, 1886 (12.7%) were found to be SARS-CoV-2 PCR positive. Among 1886 study participants, 1503 (80%) were males while 383 (20%) were females. Mean age of the study participants was 36 ± 14 years. Most frequent clinical presentations were body aches (96.5%), fever (94.1%), cough (66.8%) and loss of appetite (68.2%). Around 67 (3.5%) positive study participants were asymptomatic.

Conclusion: In this study, we observed male predominance but severity of signs and symptoms among female study participants. SARS-COVID-19 caused disease with wide range of clinical spectrum and disease can be fatal as well.