Characteristics, Clinical Manifestations, Length of Hospitalization, and Nutritional Status of COVID-19 Patients

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The disease that is endemic and has become a global pandemic is COVID-19 due to reports of thousands of cases. The pandemic is weighing on intensive care units with an influx of COVID-19 patients. The clinical manifestations of COVID-19 vary, diagnostic examinations and treatment are also experiencing dynamic developments. This study aims to provide an overview  of the characteristics, clinical manifestations, length of treatment, and nutritional status of COVID-19 patients. METHODS: This study used a descriptive analytic cross-sectional method with inclusion criteria that were positive for COVID-19. The research data were obtained from 130 hospital medical records for the period June to August 2021. The collected data were then analyzed using SPSS. RESULTS: The study found that men were more exposed to COVID-19 (71.5%) and 70% of patients worked as medical personnel. The age  range of the majority of patients was more than 40 years (78.5%). Most of the comorbidities were hypertensive patients. Clinical manifestations of COVID-19 patients were cough (44.6%), fever (40%), flu-like symptoms (32.3%), painful swallowing (26.2%), anosmia (16.2%), shortness of  breath (15.4%), nausea (14.6%), vomiting (13.8%), and diarrhea (0.9%). The average length of stay is 7–14 days (9.2%) with adequate nutritional status (14.6%). Patients with length of treatment (p = 0.01) and poor nutritional status (p =0.000) were significantly different. CONCLUSION: The majority of COVID-19 sufferers are male, over 40 years old, with cough symptoms, and the most comorbid hypertension, as well as deaths from hypertension and the elderly. Better treatment is needed for people with COVID-19.