Clinical characteristics of 140 patients infected with SARS‐CoV‐2 in Wuhan, China

Abstract

Background Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID‐19) caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus ‐2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) infection has been widely spread. We aim to investigate the clinical characteristic and allergy status of patients infected by SARS‐CoV‐2. Methods Electronical medical records including demographics, clinical manifestation, comorbidities, laboratory data and radiological materials of 140 hospitalized COVID‐19 patients, with confirmed result of SARS‐CoV‐2 viral infection were extracted and analysed. Results An approximately 1:1 ratio of male (50.7%) and female COVID‐19 patients was found, with an overall median age of 57.0 years. All patients were community acquired cases. Fever (91.7%), cough (75.0%), fatigue (75.0%) and gastrointestinal symptoms (39.6%) were the most common clinical manifestations, whereas hypertension (30.0%) and diabetes mellitus (12.1%) were the most common comorbidities. Drug hypersensitivity (11.4%) and urticaria (1.4%) were self‐reported by several patients. Asthma or other allergic diseases was not reported by any of the patients. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD, 1.4%) and current smokers (1.4%) were rare. Bilateral ground glass or patchy opacity (89.6%) were the most common signs of radiological finding. Lymphopenia (75.4%) and eosinopenia (52.9%) were observed in most patients. Blood eosinophil counts correlate positively with lymphocyte counts in severe (r=0.486, ppp<0.001). Conclusion Detailed clinical investigation of 140 hospitalized COVID‐19 cases suggest eosinopenia together with lymphopenia may be a potential indicator for diagnosis. Allergic diseases, asthma and COPD are not risk factors for SARS‐CoV‐2 infection. Elder age, high number of comorbidities and more prominent laboratory abnormalities were associated with severe patients.