South Clin Ist Euras. 2023; 34(4): 312-319 | DOI: 10.14744/scie.2023.70493

Evaluation of the Clinical Characteristics of the Patients Admitted to the Emergency Department with the Symptoms or Suspicion of COVID-19

Sevde Þanal¹, Zeliha Tülek³, Ecem Deniz Kýrkpantur Taþçý², Erdal Yýlmaz^2
1Ýstanbul University-Cerrahpasa, Institute of Graduate Studies, Ýstanbul, Türkiye
²Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Health Sciences, Kartal Dr. Lütfi Kýrdar City Hospital, Ýstanbul, Türkiye
³Ýstanbul University-Cerrahpasa, Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing, Ýstanbul, Türkiye

INTRODUCTION: Emergency departments have been the first step in managing the COVID-19 infection, which has been declared a worldwide pandemic. This study aims to determine the clinical characteristics of patients admitted to the emergency department with the suspicion or symptoms of COVID-19 infection.
METHODS: The sample of our study consisted of patients aged 18 and over who were admitted to the emergency department of a tertiary hospital in Istanbul with symptoms or suspicion of COVID-19 between September and December 2020. Five hundred patients with positive RT-PCR test results and 500 patients with negative test results were included in the study. The patients’ data were retrieved retrospectively through the hospital’s information management system.
RESULTS: The mean age of patients with COVID -19 (-) (53.2±18.1) was lower than that of patients with COVID -19 (+) (59.2±18.4) (p=0.001). The distribution of sex (p=0.61) and occupation (p=0.52) was similar in both groups. The rate of presentation with dyspnea was higher in COVID -19 (+) patients (37.6%) than in the COVID -19 (-) group (22%) (p=0.001). Body temperature measured in the emergency department was higher in COVID -19 (+) patients than in COVID -19 (-) patients (p=0.04). Mean SPO2 was lower in COVID -19 (+) patients (92.3±9.6%) than in COVID -19 (-) patients (96.2±4.8%) (p=0.001). The incidence of ground-glass opacities in the thorax CT was higher (59.6%) in the COVID -19 (+) patient group than in the COVID -19 (-) (47.5%) patient group (p=0.003).
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: In this study, the clinical features of COVID-19 infection in patients admitted to the emergency department were compared with the literature. Conducting similar studies on COVID-19 infection is essential to update the existing literature and add new data. More comprehensive studies and evidence are needed to effectively manage the diagnosis and treatment process of the epidemic.

Keywords: Clinical symptoms, coronavirus disease, COVID-19, emergency department, pandemic.

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Acil Servise COVID-19 Semptomlarý veya Þüphesi ile Baþvuran Hastalarýn Klinik Özelliklerinin Deðerlendirilmesi

Sevde Þanal¹, Zeliha Tülek³, Ecem Deniz Kýrkpantur Taþçý², Erdal Yýlmaz^2
1Ýstanbul Üniversitesi-Cerrahpaþa, Lisansüstü Eðitim Enstitüsü, Ýstanbul, Türkiye
²Saðlýk Bilimleri Üniversitesi, Kartal Dr. Lütfi Kýrdar Þehir Hastanesi, Acil Týp Anabilim Dalý, Ýstanbul, Türkiye
³Ýstanbul Üniversitesi-Cerrahpaþa, Florence Nightingale Hemþirelik Fakültesi, Ýstanbul, Türkiye

GÝRÝÞ ve AMAÇ: Acil servisler, dünya çapýnda bir pandemi olarak ilan edilen COVID-19 enfeksiyonunun yönetiminde ilk adým olmuþtur. Bu çalýþma, COVID-19 enfeksiyonu þüphesi veya semptomlarý ile acil servise baþvuran hastalarýn klinik özelliklerini belirlemeyi amaçlamaktadýr.
YÖNTEM ve GEREÇLER: Çalýþmamýzýn örneklemini Eylül-Aralýk 2020 tarihleri arasýnda Ýstanbul’da üçüncü basamak bir hastanenin acil servisine COVID-19 semptomu veya þüphesi ile baþvuran 18 yaþ ve üzeri hastalar oluþturmuþtur. RT-PCR test sonucu pozitif olan 500 hasta ile negatif olan 500 hasta çalýþmaya dahil edildi. Hastalarýn verileri hastanenin bilgi yönetim sistemi aracýlýðýyla retrospektif olarak deðerlendirildi.
BULGULAR: COVID-19 (-) hastalarýn yaþ ortalamasý (53.2±18.1) COVID-19 (+) (59.2±18.4) olanlara göre daha düþüktü (p=0.001). Cinsiyet (p=0.61) ve meslek (p=0.52) daðýlýmlarý her iki grupta benzerdi. COVID-19 (+) hastalarda nefes darlýðý ile baþvuru oraný (%37.6) COVID-19 (-) gruba (%22) göre daha yüksekti (p=0.001). Acil serviste ölçülen vücut sýcaklýðý COVID-19 (+) hastalarda COVID-19 (-) hastalara göre daha yüksekti (p=0.04). SPO2 ortalamasý COVID-19 (+) hastalarda (%92.3±9.6) COVID-19 (-) hastalara (%96.2±4.8) (p=0.001) göre daha düþük bulundu. Toraks BT’de buzlu cam opasitesi insidansý COVID-19 (+) hasta grubunda (%59.6) COVID-19 (-) hastalara (%47.5) göre daha yüksek bulundu (p=0.003).
TARTIÞMA ve SONUÇ: Bu çalýþmada, acil servise baþvuran hastalarda COVID-19 enfeksiyonunun klinik özellikleri literatür ile karþýlaþtýrýldý. COVID-19 enfeksiyonu ile ilgili benzer çalýþmalarýn yapýlmasý mevcut literatürün güncellenmesi ve yeni verilerin eklenmesi açýsýndan önemlidir. Salgýnýn teþhis ve tedavi sürecini etkin bir þekilde yönetmek için daha kapsamlý çalýþmalara ve kanýtlara ihtiyaç vardýr.

Anahtar Kelimeler: Acil servis, COVID-19, coronavirüs hastalýðý, klinik semptomlar, pandemi.

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