Clinical profile and outcome of patients with Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): a large-scale observational study from Tamil Nadu, India
Background: This study aims to assess the socio-demographic and clinical profile of the patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 in Tamil Nadu, India and to identify the associated prognostic determinants.Methods: Facility-level observational data pertaining to the case investigation of 15045 lab confirmed cases of COVID-19 reported in Tamil Nadu from March to June 2020 was used for the purpose of the study. The demographic and clinical profile of the COVID-19 confirmed cases and age-sex specific estimates of severity of illness were analysed. Determinants of prognosis were tested for statistical significance using Chi square and Student t test as appropriate.Results: The mean age was 40±7 years with a male predilection. Thirty six percent of the cases were symptomatic, with fever being the predominant symptom, followed by cough and breathlessness. The Case ICU rate and Case Fatality rate were found to be 6.2% and 2.9% respectively. Increasing age, male sex and underlying comorbid illness were found to significantly affect prognosis in these patients. However, it was observed that females experienced higher risk of severe illness and fatality in the younger age groups.Conclusions: While the observed findings reiterate the prognostic significance of age, gender and comorbidity as evidenced by other studies, the increased risk of severe illness and fatality among younger females provides a new direction for further research from a socio-epidemiological perspective.