Intensive Care and Emergency Department, Laquintinie Hospital, Douala, Cameroon.
Department of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Buea, Buea Cameroon.
Pan Afr Med J. 2021 Mar 8;38:246. doi: 10.11604/pamj.2021.38.246.28169. eCollection 2021.
the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a disease that originated from Wuhan in December 2019. It rapidly spread across the globe causing high mortality especially among the elderly. Africa though not spared has limited studies regarding its effects on its population. We therefore sought to describe the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of COVID-19 in Douala, Cameroon.
we conducted a single-centre, retrospective, and observational study by reviewing records of patients managed for COVID-19 between the 8 March 2020 and 31, May 2020. Cases were confirmed by real-time reverse transcriptase - polymerase chain reaction and were analysed for epidemiological, demographic, clinical, and radiological features. Outcomes were either clinical improvement by Day-28 or in-hospital mortality.
we analyzed 282 case files, 192 were males (M: F=2: 1). The mean age was 52 (+/- 15) years. Hypertension and diabetes accounted for 75% of the chronic medical conditions identified. Main presenting complaints were dyspnea, cough, asthenia, and fever (55-60%). Radiographic analysis showed a ground-glass appearance in 85% of cases. Chloroquine/Hydroxychloroquine was the most (91.8%) frequently used drug in management protocols, 35% needed oxygen supplementation while 6 patients were intubated. Severe pneumonia (11.3%) was the commonest complication. They were 91 admissions in the intensive care unit. The average length of hospital stay was 10 (+/- 5) days. The mortality rate was 32%.
our findings are concordant with universally reported data of COVID-19 hospitalised patients. These parameters are essential in designing effective prevention and control programs aimed at reducing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic particularly in countries with limited resources.
2019 年 12 月，一种源自中国武汉的新型冠状病毒病（COVID-19）迅速蔓延至全球，导致死亡率极高，尤其是老年人。非洲虽然没有幸免于难，但针对其对人口的影响的研究有限。因此，我们旨在描述 COVID-19 在喀麦隆杜阿拉的流行病学和临床特征。
我们通过回顾 2020 年 3 月 8 日至 2020 年 5 月 31 日期间收治的 COVID-19 患者的病历，进行了一项单中心、回顾性、观察性研究。通过实时逆转录聚合酶链反应（RT-PCR）确认病例，并分析其流行病学、人口统计学、临床和影像学特征。结果为 28 天临床改善或住院死亡率。
我们分析了 282 例病历，其中 192 例为男性（M：F=2：1）。平均年龄为 52（+/-15）岁。高血压和糖尿病占确定的慢性疾病的 75%。主要表现为呼吸困难、咳嗽、乏力和发热（55-60%）。影像学分析显示 85%的病例呈磨玻璃样外观。氯喹/羟氯喹是管理方案中最常用的药物（91.8%），35%需要氧疗补充，6 例患者需要插管。最常见的并发症是重症肺炎（11.3%）。有 91 例患者入住重症监护病房。平均住院时间为 10（+/-5）天。死亡率为 32%。
我们的发现与普遍报道的 COVID-19 住院患者数据一致。这些参数对于设计有效的预防和控制计划至关重要，旨在减少 COVID-19 大流行的影响，特别是在资源有限的国家。
