From 24th January the fever clinic was rearranged to 31th March, 1034 fever clinic visits with 530 male and 504 female, were triaged, treated and recorded. Their demographic and clinical characteristics are shown in table 1. The age data was tested to fit the normal distribution (P<0.05) and the average is 37.43 with a range from 2 to 92. About 201 patients (19.5%) declared history of exposure to COVID-19 such as recently living or traveling to Hubei province, contact with local confirmed cases, or close contact with suspected cases. Patients with history of exposure were required to take on personal protective equipment and get subsequent test in isolated cells.
Table 1. The demographic and clinical characteristics of patients.
Characteristics
|
|
All patients (N=1034)
|
Gender
|
Male
|
530 (51.3%)
|
Female
|
504 (48.7%)
|
Age
|
Mean (min, max)
|
37.43±0.51 (2, 92)
|
History of exposure
|
Recently visit of Hubei province
|
41 (4.0%)
|
Contact with confirmed cases
|
133 (12.9%)
|
Other exposure
|
27 (2.6%)
|
No exposure
|
833 (80.5%)
|
Distribution of body temprature
|
<37.3℃
|
363 (35.1%)
|
37.3℃-38.0℃
|
434 (42.0%)
|
38.1℃-39.0℃
|
187 (18.1%)
|
>39.1℃
|
50 (4.8%)
|
Blood pressure (BP)
|
Normal BP*
|
890 (85.1%)
|
High BP
|
146 (14.1%)
|
Low BP
|
8 (0.8%)
|
Hours from onset to clinic (N=853)
|
Median (min, max)
|
48 (0, 1440)
|
*Normal blood pressure was defined as 90-120mmHg/60-90mmHg.
Though all visits come to fever clinic for fever, only 64.9% of them were checked with body temperature higher than 37.3℃. Cough (25.0%) and sore throat (19.2%) were the most common symptoms in addition to fever, as shown in table 2. We ordered chest CT scan for 900 patients considering history and manifestations, and 172 cases (16.6%) were found ground grass opacity, 134 (13.0%) found local patchy shadowing, and 26 (2.5%) found bilateral patchy shadowing.
At last 851 patients (82.3%) were excluded for COVID-19 or other severe diseases and asked to go home with or without medications, and 80 patients (7.7%) admitted to hospitalization for other conditions. The other 103 patients (9.9%) were admitted to isolation ward as suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19 for further test and treatment.
We summarized the symptoms and examinations of suspected cases, compared with all patients and shown also in table 2.
Only 5 patients were tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, and isolated as confirmed cases. Among the 103 cases admitted to isolation ward, another seven patients were finally confirmed of COVID-19 by RT-PCT assay of nasal and pharyngeal swab, 31 patients cured and discharged as suspected cases, and the other 60 patients excluded within 3 to 12 days.
Table 2. The manifestations and examination of all patients and suspected cases.
Symptoms and examinations
|
All patients
(N=1034)
|
Admission as suspected
(N=103)
|
Cough
|
259 (25.0%)
|
29 (28.2)
|
Sore Throat
|
199 (19.2)
|
20 (19.4%)
|
Fatigue
|
91 (8.8%)
|
9 (8.7%)
|
Running nose
|
73 (7.1%)
|
10 (9.7%)
|
Myalgia or arthralgia
|
69 (6.7%)
|
6 (5.8%)
|
Diarrhoea
|
49 (4.7%)
|
1 (1.0%)
|
Nasal Congestion
|
45 (4.4%)
|
7 (6.8%)
|
Headache
|
45 (4.4%)
|
2 (1.9)
|
Chills
|
37 (3.6%)
|
0
|
Dyspnea
|
36 (3.5%)
|
5 (4.9%)
|
Hemoptysis
|
5 (0.5%)
|
0
|
CT scan of chest (N=900)
|
|
|
Normal
|
301 (29.1%)
|
3 (2.9%)
|
Ground glass opacity
|
172 (16.6%)
|
42 40.8%)
|
Local patchy shadowing
|
134 (13.0%)
|
46 (44.7%)
|
Bilateral patchy shadowing
|
26 (2.5%)
|
6 (5.8%)
|
Interstitial abnormalities
|
6 (0.6%)
|
0
|
Other abnormalities
|
261 (25.2%)
|
6 (5.8%)
|
WBC count (N=927)
|
|
|
WBC <3.5×109/L
|
23 (2.2%)
|
3 (2.9%)
|
WBC >9.5×109/L
|
325 (31.4%)
|
17 (16.5%)
|
Lymphocyte count (N=927)
|
|
|
Lym <1.1×109/L
|
323 (31.2%)
|
41 (39.8%)
|
Lym >3.2×109/L
|
27 (2.6%)
|
5 (4.9%)
|
C-reaction protein >5mg/L (N=878)
|
530 (51.3%)
|
69 (67%)
|
RT-PCR assay of nasal and pharyngeal swab (N=1013)
|
|
|
Positive
|
5
|
5
|
Negative
|
1008
|
98
|