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. 2022 May 24;11(11):2968.
doi: 10.3390/jcm11112968.

Comparative Clinical Characteristics, Laboratory Findings, and Outcomes of Hypoxemic and Non-Hypoxemic Patients Treated at a Makeshift COVID-19 Unit in Bangladesh: A Retrospective Chart Analysis

Monira Sarmin  1 , Mustafa Mahfuz  1 , Lubaba Shahrin  1 , Nusrat Jahan Shaly  1 , Shamsun Nahar Shaima  1 , Shamima Sharmin Shikha  1 , Didarul Haque Jeorge  1 , Shoeb Bin Islam  1 , Mohammod Jobayer Chisti  1 , Tahmeed Ahmed  1
Affiliations

Comparative Clinical Characteristics, Laboratory Findings, and Outcomes of Hypoxemic and Non-Hypoxemic Patients Treated at a Makeshift COVID-19 Unit in Bangladesh: A Retrospective Chart Analysis

Monira Sarmin et al. J Clin Med. .

Abstract

Background: Starting on 31 December 2019, from Wuhan City, China, Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused a global pandemic by 11 March 2020. Bangladesh detected its first case on 8 March 2020, only 66 days later the detection of the first case in China. We aimed to describe the epidemiology, clinical features, laboratory characteristics, and outcomes of Bangladeshi COVID-19 patients. Methods: This retrospective chart analysis compared Bangladeshi COVID-19 patients with hypoxemia compared to those without hypoxemia treated in a makeshift COVID-19 unit of icddr,b. Results: By March 2021, 207 remained in-patient. Nineteen patients (9.2%) died, whereas 10 (4.8%) were referred to different facilities for definitive care. Out of 207 in-patients, 88 patients required oxygen therapy. Multivariable logistic regression identified age (1.07 (1.02−1.13)), dyspnea (3.56 (1.06−11.96)), high CRP (1.13 (1.03−1.25)), and lymphopenia (6.18 (1.81−21.10)) as the independent predictors for hypoxemia in patients hospitalized for COVID 19 (for all, p < 0.05). Conclusion: Older age, dyspnea, high CRP, and lymphopenia are simple, but important, clinical and laboratory parameters. These may help clinicians to identify COVID-19 patients early who are at risk of fatal hypoxemia. Close monitoring, and prompt and aggressive treatment of these patients would curb their morbidity and mortality, especially in resource-limited settings.

Keywords: Bangladesh; COVID-19; CRP; dyspnea; lymphopenia; makeshift hospital; older age.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow diagram showing COVID-19 patients managed at icddr,b Dhaka Hospital.
Figure 2
Figure 2
(a) Outcome of the study patients, and (b) complications during the disease course among the patients requiring oxygen (ARDS = acute respiratory distress syndrome).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve with area under the curve (AUC) showing parameters associated with hypoxemia among the patients hospitalized for COVID-19.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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