Clinical manifestations of patients with Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID- 19) attending at hospitals in Bangladesh

Bangladesh is in the rising phase of the ongoing pandemic of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). The scientific literature on clinical manifestations of COVID-19 patients from Bangladesh is scarce. This study aimed to report the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of patients with COVID-19 in Bangladesh. We conducted a cross-sectional study at three dedicated COVID-19 hospitals. The severity of the COVID-19 cases was assessed based on the WHO interim guidance. Data were collected only from non-critical COVID-19 patients as critical patients required immediate intensive care admission making them unable to respond to the questions. A total of 103 RT-PCR confirmed non-critical COVID-19 patients were enrolled. Most of the patients (71.8%) were male. Mild, moderate and severe illness were assessed in 74.76%, 9.71% and 15.53% of patients respectively. Nearly 52.4% of patients had a co-morbidity, with hypertension being the most common (34%), followed by diabetes mellitus (21.4%) and ischemic heart disease (9.7%). Fever (78.6%), weakness (68%) and cough (44.7%) were the most common clinical manifestations. Other common symptoms included loss of appetite (37.9%), difficulty in breathing (37.9%), altered sensation of taste or smell (35.0%), headache (32%) and body ache (32%). The median time from onset of symptom to attending hospitals was 7 days (IQR 4-10). This study will help both the clinicians and epidemiologists to understand the magnitude and clinical spectrum of COVID-19 patients in Bangladesh.