A Comparative Study between Covid-19 Positive versus Suspected Patients: A Single-Center Study in Bangladesh

Background: The novel coronavirus disease or Covid-19 was first identified in Wuhan, China, which quickly involved majority of the countries across the world. Because of its high rate of mortality-morbidity and the similarities in signs and symptoms of pneumonia, it is very important to acquire proper knowledge to differ Covid-19 suspected and positive cases.

Aim of the Study: The aim of this study was to compare the demographic and clinical findings between Covid-19 positive and suspected patients.

Methods: This comparative observational study was conducted in the Department of Medicine, Shahabuddin Medical College Hospital, Gulshan, Dhaka, Bangladesh, during the period from November 2020 to March 2022. In total 126 suspected Covid-19 patients were included as the study subjects for this study. After confirming 16 Covid-19 positive cases from total 126 participants by RT-PCR tests, the demographic and clinical features of those positive cases were compared with previously found findings (When total participants were defined as suspected) of total participants. A predesigned questioner was used in data collection. All data were collected, processed and analyzed by using MS Office and SPSS version 23 programs as per need.

Results: In this study, in comparing the demographic findings like age, gender as well as body-weights of Covid-19 suspected and positive group patients, we did not find any significant correlation. But in comparing the electrolytes: Na+, K+ and Cl- between the groups, we found extremely significant correlation between Covid-19 suspected and positive groups where the P values were found as <0.0001, 0.002 and 0.0002 respectively. In this study, as more frequent comorbidities, HTN and DM were observed in both the groups (>10%).

Conclusion: It is very difficult to confirm Covid-19 cases from suspected cases by demographic and/or clinical investigation without RT-PCR tests. Electrolyte assessment may play an important role in detecting Covid-19 cases.