Factors Associated with SARS-CoV-2 Positivity in Patients Treated at the Lambayeque Regional Hospital, Peru during a Pandemic Period

Abstract

The aim of this study was to provide additional data on mortality from COVID-19 with particular attention to the factors associated with the positivity of patients admitted to the Lambayeque Hospital in Peru. A retrospective cohort analysis was carried out to determine the clinical-epidemiological factors associated with positivity for SARS-CoV-2 in patients treated at the Lambayeque Regional Hospital during the health emergency period in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was observed that, as the demographic age group increased, the percentage of seropositivity increased, with 66.8% of elderly adults testing positive, compared to 37.4% of children (p < 0.001). More seropositive men than women were evident (61.1% vs. 54.1%; p < 0.001). The most frequent symptom of patients with suspected COVID-19 was cough (65.0%). However, the symptoms with the greatest frequency of seropositive patients were ageusia (78.6%) and fever (77.6%); cough was one of the symptoms with the lowest (63.9%) (p-value < 0.001). The comorbidities with the most seropositive patients were obesity (80.7%) and diabetes mellitus (73.6%) (p-value < 0.001), different from the top comorbidity of heart disease (12.7%) in suspected COVID-19 patients. In terms of disease signs, abnormal findings on MRI (98.11%) and dyspnea (28.7%) were the most common in suspected COVID-19 patients, similar to those in seropositive patients, which were dyspnea (81.4%) and abnormal tomography findings (75.3%) (p-value < 0.001).