Clinical features of patients with probable 2019 novel coronavirus infected pneumonia in Rasht, Iran: A retrospective case series

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) is the first pandemic infectious disease caused by a novel coronavirus. Viral pneumonia is a severe complication of COVID-19. AIM: Due to the high prevalence of this disease globally, especially in Iran, the aim of this study was to determine the clinical features of seven patients with probable COVID-19 infected pneumonia in Rasht, North Iran. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this retrospective case series study, we described the clinical, laboratory, and radiological features of seven patients with probable COVID-19 infected pneumonia at Razi Hospital, Rasht, north of Iran, from February 27 to March 16, 2020. RESULTS: In this study, the most common clinical symptoms during hospitalization in patients with COVID-19 were poor appetite (seven cases), dehydration (seven cases), cough (six cases), dyspnea (six cases), fatigue (six cases), fever above 38°C (five cases), myalgia (five cases), Chills (five cases), feeling fever (five cases), sore throat (five cases), and nausea (five cases), respectively. The average body temperature in these patients was 39.32°C. In laboratory findings, erythrocyte sedimentation rate was elevated in three patients. Contrary to most of the evidence, C-reactive protein was not elevated in five patients. All patients received antibiotic and antiviral medications and received symptomatic treatment. Finally, four patients responded to the treatments and were discharged from the hospital; two patients were still hospitalized and only one patient died. CONCLUSION: Patients with COVID-19 associated pneumonia can be treated by evaluating and implementing appropriate therapeutic management. However, at the moment the disease progression for patients with COVID-19 cannot be accurately predicted.