Factor predicted symptomatic COVID-19 infection and COVID-19 pneumonia in Thungsong Hospital, Nakhon Si Thammarat Province

Abstract

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the cause of COVID-19 infection which the first case was identified on 30 December 2019, in Wuhan, China. The possible symptoms for many infected people include asymptomatic, a mild respiratory illness, severe illness such as pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and death. In Thailand we found the first confirmed case on 13 January 2020. This study aimed to determine the factors associated symptomatic COVID-19 and pneumonia in Thungsong Hospital from January 2019 to October 2021. The identified factors were analyzed using the Chi-square test, and only statistically significant factors were further analyzed by using multiple logistic regression (95%CI, p<0.05). A total of eligible 1,446 patients were divided into 266 asymptomatic, 644 symptomatic without pneumonia, and 536 with COVID-19 pneumonia. Factors associated with symptomatic COVID-19 without pneumonia were patients in the age group between 18-65 years which had underlying disease, the blood level of absolute lymphocyte(ALC) count less than or equal to 1,600, and blood level of C-reactive protein (CRP) higher than or equal to 10 (p<0.05). Factors significantly associated with COVID-19 pneumonia were patients in the age over 66 years, the clinical presentation of fever, dyspnea, the blood level of absolute lymphocyte (ALC) count less than or equal to 1,600, and blood level of C-reactive protein (CRP) higher than or equal to 10 (p<0.05). In conclusion, patients with such as risk factors should be monitored in order to ensure immediate medical treatment.