Relationship between Duration of Symptom Onset and Hospital Admission with other Variables Among COVID-19 Patients

Background: Recent infections caused by Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have been reported worldwide, which makes complete understanding of the associated factors essential. Objectives: To assess the relationship between duration between symptom onset and hospital admission (SOT) with inflammatory markers, oxygen requirement, duration of hospital stay, and outcome among COVID-19 patients. Material and Methods: A retrospective observational study was conducted among patients admitted in a tertiary healthcare center located in Coimbatore. Patients were selected based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The medical records of all the selected participants were retrieved, and data related to the demographic and clinical variables were analysed. Results: The distribution of participants showed that 52.41% were males and had a mean age of 55.48±19.09 years. Common symptom reported was fever (63.45%), followed by cough (58.32%), myalgia (23.79%), and breathlessness (14.93%), with the most prevalent comorbidity being diabetes (36.7%). Results also show that there were significantly increased odds of needing oxygen requirement, remdesivir and steroid treatment, and increased D-dimer levels (p<0.05) with increased SOT. Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that the duration between SOT in COVID-19 patients can influence variables such as duration of hospital stay, symptoms, comorbidities, oxygen requirement, D-dimer levels, and treatment efficacy.