Comparative study on epidemiology and clinical characteristics in patients with imported and local secondary COVID-19

Abstract:

Objective：To explore the difference between the imported and local secondary cases of coronavirus disease 2019（COVID-19）. Methods：A total of 129 confirmed COVID-19 cases with a clear epidemiological history admitted to hospitals in Nanyang from January 24 to February 26，2020 were enrolled in this study. The patients were divided into the imported group（n=70） and the local secondary group（n=59） according to the travel history to or a residence history in Wuhan or in the surrounding areas in Hubei Province within 14 days before the illness. The differences of the epidemiological，clinical，laboratory and imaging characteristics and prognosis in two groups were compared. Results：The early diagnosed cases were mainly imported cases，and the later diagnosed ones were mainly local secondary cases. The most common first symptom in the two groups was fever：the imported case group was mainly the moderate fever，and the local secondary case group was mainly the low fever throughout the course. Upper respiratory symptoms，such as nasal congestion，runny nose，dry throat，and sore throat，were more common in the local secondary group，whereas wheezing symptoms were more common in the imported group. The lymphonpenia in the imported case group was significantly lower than that in the local secondary case group. Procalcitonin（PCT） in the imported group was significantly higher than those in the local secondary group. Chest CT in the imported case group showed more advanced and severe period performance when admitted to hospital，and the local secondary case group showed more early performance. Progressive and severe symptoms in the imported case group was signifi－cantly higher than those in the local secondary case group. The proportion of severe and critical severe patients in the imported case group was significantly higher than that in the local secondary case group. Three deaths （all males） were noted in the imported case group，whereas no death was recorded in the local group. Conclusion：There are differences in clinical symptoms，laboratory examina－tions and chest CT performance between imported and local secondary cases. The imported case group has more severe or critical severe patients，with a higher mortality.