The Correlation Between Clinical Manifestations and Mortality in COVID-19 Infection

Background: The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic affected more than 700 million individuals worldwide and resulted in the death of over 7 million people. Still, data are scarce on whether specific clinical manifestations of COVID-19 infection correlate with increased mortality rates. Objective: To study the correlation between clinical manifestations and mortality in a cohort of Saudi patients with COVID-19 infection. Methods: This was a retrospective (both descriptive and analytical) study of medical records conducted at a tertiary healthcare center in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, using a large dataset collected between April and December 2020. The clinical manifestations of patients were studied in correlation with the disease outcome at the time of discharge from the hospital. Results: Of 108 cases recruited, 78.7% were males, and the mean age was 57.5 ± 12.7 (29 - 90) years. No significant correlation was noted between the mortality and clinical manifestations, including cough (p = 0.69), dyspnea (p = 0.71), fever (p = 0.84), fatigue (0.41), myalgia (p = 0.85), headache (p = 0.33), gastro-intestinal symptoms (p = 0.94), sore throat (p = 0.28), rhinorrhea (p = 0.24), abdominal pain (0.06), chest pain (0.112), and altered conscious-ness (p = 0.89). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that none of the symptoms significantly predicted mortality (p > 0.05). Conclusion: This study found no significant correlation between specific COVID-19 clinical manifestations and mortality among Saudi patients in the study cohort. Despite the diverse range of symptoms observed, including respiratory, gastrointestinal, and systemic manifestations, none were independently predictive of mortality. These findings suggest that other factors, such as comorbidities, age, or immune response, may play a more critical role in determining COVID-19 outcomes. Further research with larger, more diverse populations is necessary to better understand the determinants of mortality in COVID-19 patients and to inform effective clinical management strategies.