440. Clinical Characteristics of Early Noncritical Hospitalized Patients with Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): A Single-Center Retrospective Study in New York City

Abstract

Background: COVID-19 first originated in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. As of April 9, 2020, New York State had become the single largest global epicenter of COVID-19. Methods: This is a retrospective chart review of the first 33 patients with RT-PCR-confirmed COVID-19 admitted from the emergency department to a general medicine unit in a single academic hospital in New York City between March 11th to March 27th, 2020. Patient's demographic, clinical, laboratory, radiographic investigations, treatments and clinical outcomes were retrospectively extracted from the electronic medical record and followed until April 10th, 2020. Patients were divided into severe and nonsevere sub-cohorts. Statistics were descriptive in nature. Results: The study cohort (median age 68 yr, 67% male) presented with subjective fevers (82%), cough (88%), and dyspnea (76%). The median incubation period was 3 days. Most cases met SIRS criteria upon admission (76%). Patients had elevated inflammatory markers. Patients were treated with antimicrobials, corticosteroids, hydroxychloroquine, and varying levels of supplemental oxygen. Mortality was 15% and 18% of the cohort required intensive care services. Conclusion: Patient age, presenting clinical symptoms, comorbidity profile, laboratory biomarkers, and radiographic features are consistent with findings published from China. Severe patients had peaks in inflammatory biomarkers later in the hospitalization, which may be useful to trend. Further studies are necessary to create guidelines to better risk-stratify COVID-19 patients based on clinical severity.