A Prospective Observational Study of the Clinico- Demographic Characteristics of Patients Attending the Covid-19 Screening Clinic in a Tertiary Care Hospital in South India During the Omicron Predominance Period

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has become a global general healthcare emergency, affecting healthcare facilities. It's indeed
essential to analyse the epidemiology and clinical traits of people presenting as fever, a prominent sign of COVID-19, in various global
locations. Our report concentrated on the clinical history of individuals experiencing fever who presented to a Covid-19 screening clinic
at a clinical facility in southern India.
Methods: From December 27, 2021 to January 3, 2022, the patient characteristics and clinical presentation of all adult patients attending
the Covid-19 screening clinic at a tertiary hospital in Tamil Nadu, South India, were analysed. The patients got treated in accordance
with the consensus method of the institute and the criteria of the Indian Council of Medical Research.
Results: Throughout the research period, 77 patients visited the screening clinic. The mean age of the participants was 26.78 ± 13.89
years (range 12-70 years). There were 44 (57.14 %) males and 33 (42.86%) females. The common presenting complaints were fever
(n=56; 72.7%), rhinitis (n=24; 31.2%), cough (n=18; 23.4%), and shortness of breath (n=02; 2.6%). The median time of presentation
after symptom onset was 2 days (0-9 days). One patient presented with hypoxia (SpO2<94%) and had tachypnoea (RR >24). Non
respiratory symptoms like body ache (n=25; 32.5%) and gastrointestinal symptoms (n=04; 5.2%) were also observed. Thirty-four
patients (29.8%) had a comorbid ailment. Sixty two (80.1%) patients were fully vaccinated, nine (11.7 %) were partially vaccinated
and three (3.9%) were unvaccinated. Thirty eight patients (49.4%) had prior contact with Covid-19 affected persons. Four patients (5.2)
reported with a positive RTPCR result from elsewhere and thirty seven patients (48.1 %) were found to be Covid-19 RTPCR positive
after investigations. Admission to the ICU was not immediately required in any of the patients.
Conclusion: Majority of the patients presenting to fever OP in our hospital were young. Fever was the predominant symptom which
made people suspicious of Covid-19 infection, Respiratory systems were common in patients diagnosed with Covid-19. Patients with
comorbidities who presented with these symptoms were more likely to become RTPCR-positive.