Clinical and virological course of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 in Jiangsu province, China: a retrospective, multi-center cohort study

• Published in: Virology journal 2021-07, Vol.18 (1), p.1-147, Article 147
• Main Authors: Huang, Rui, Zhu, Li, Xue, Leyang, Yan, Xuebing, Wang, Jian, Huang, Songping, Zhang, Biao, Xu, Tianmin, Ji, Fang, Li, Chunyang, Ming, Fang, Zhao, Yun, Li, Yang, Cheng, Juan, Wang, Yinling, Shao, Huaping, Hong, Shuqin, Chen, Kang, Zhao, Xiang-an, Sang, Dawen, Zou, Lei, Zhao, Haiyan, Guan, Xinying, Chen, Xiaobing, Xu, Biyun, Xia, Juan, Chen, Yuxin, Yan, Xiaomin, Wei, Jie, Liu, Jiacheng, Liu, Longgen, Zhu, Chuanwu, Wu, Chao
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Age; Asymptomatic; Clearance; Cohort analysis; Coronavirus disease 2019; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; Diabetes; Disease control; Epidemiology; Fatalities; Hospitalization; Hospitals; Hypertension; Infections; Inhalation; Laboratories; Normal distribution; Patients; Pneumonia; Prognosis; Regression analysis; Respiratory distress syndrome; Respiratory failure; SARS-CoV-2; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Viral; α-Interferon
• ISSN: 1743-422X; 1743-422X
• DOI: 10.1186/s12985-021-01615-y

The clinical and virological course of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are lacking. We aimed to describe the clinical and virological characteristics of COVID-19 patients from 10 designated hospitals in 10 cities of Jiangsu province, China. The factors associated with the clearance of SARS-CoV-2 were investigated. A total of 328 hospitalized patients with COVID-19 were retrospectively recruited. The epidemiological, clinical, laboratory, radiology and treatment data were collected. The associated factors of SARS-CoV-2 clearance were analyzed. The median duration of hospitalization was 16.0 days (interquartile range [IQR] 13.0-21.0 days). On multivariate Cox regression analysis, age > 60 years (hazard ratio [HR] 0.643, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.454-0.911, P = 0.013) was associated with the delayed SARS-CoV-2 clearance, while the atomized inhalation of interferon [alpha]-2b could improve the clearance of SARS-CoV-2 (HR, 1.357, 95% CI 1.050-1.755, P = 0.020). Twenty-six (7.9%) patients developed respiratory failure and 4 (1.2%) patients developed ARDS. Twenty (6.1%) patients were admitted to the ICU, while no patient was deceased. Our study found that age > 60 years was associated with the delayed SARS-CoV-2 clearance, while treated with atomized inhalation of interferon [alpha]-2b could promote the clearance of SARS-CoV-2.