Clinical outcomes of initially asymptomatic patients with COVID-19: a Korean nationwide cohort study

Abstract

Background: This study was performed to compare severe clinical outcome between initially asymptomatic and symptomatic infections and to identify risk factors associated with high patient mortality among initially asymptomatic patients. Methods: In this retrospective, nationwide cohort study, we included 5621 patients who had been discharged from isolation or died from COVID-19 by 30 April 2020. The mortality rate and admission rate to intensive care unit (ICU) were compared between initially asymptomatic and symptomatic patients. We established a prediction model for patient mortality through risk factor analysis among initially asymptomatic patients. Results: The prevalence of initially asymptomatic patients upon admission was 25.8%. The mortality rates were not different between groups (3.3% vs. 4.5%, p =.17). However, initially symptomatic patients were more likely to receive ICU care compared to initially asymptomatic patients (4.1% vs. 1.0%, p