Clinical Presentation of COVID-19: Case Series and Review of the Literature

Abstract

COVID-19 infection has a broad spectrum of severity ranging from an asymptomatic form to a severe acute respiratory syndrome that requires mechanical ventilation. Starting with the description of our case series, we evaluated the clinical presentation and evolution of COVID-19. This article is addressed particularly to physicians caring for patients with COVID-19 in their clinical practice. The intent is to identify the subjects in whom the infection is most likely to evolve and the best methods of management in the early phase of infection to determine which patients should be hospitalized and which could be monitored at home. Asymptomatic patients should be followed to evaluate the appearance of symptoms. Patients with mild symptoms lasting more than a week, and without evidence of pneumonia, can be managed at home. Patients with evidence of pulmonary involvement, especially in patients over 60 years of age, and/or with a comorbidity, and/or with the presence of severe extrapulmonary manifestations, should be admitted to a hospital for careful clinical-laboratory monitoring.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; clinical presentation; natural history.

Figure 1

Management of COVID-19 patients according to the clinical presentation.