Epidemiological pattern of COVID-19 in a brazilian northeast small municipality

Abstract

Introduction: The Coronavirus 2 pandemic related to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV-2), which causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which emerged in late 2019 in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China is a variation of the Coronavirus family that causes respiratory infections. The first human Coronaviruses were isolated for the first time in 1937. Objective: to characterize the epidemiological profile of confirmed cases and clinical manifestations caused by COVID-19 in a small municipality in northeastern Brazil. Methodology: epidemiological, descriptive, quantitative study of 564 patients confirmed with COVID-19 disease in the city of Poções - Bahia. The data were obtained from the notifica-SUS platform and with the analysis of medical records only of patients who died with confirmation of the disease between the period from June 1, 2020 to 08/08/2020. Results: The age group most affected by the COVID-19 disease was between 20 and 39 years old, with 40.24% of confirmed cases. In the population aged 3 to 19 years, the number of cases was inversely proportional, with a lower number of infected with the virus, 8.48% of confirmed cases, thus, followed by the low numbers of cases in babies/infants with a low infection rate. of 1.95%. Among the patients diagnosed with the disease, the main symptoms reported were dry cough (276 [48.9%]), fever (225 [39.89%]), headache (163 [28.90%]), sore throat (152 [26.95%), dyspnea (124 [21.98%]), myalgia (107 [18.97%]) and anosmia (101 [17.90%]). Among the symptoms presented, (76 [12.94%]) of the patients had symptomatic complaints of the gastrointestinal system, of which, the main signs and symptoms reported by them were diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, inappetence, abdominal pain and weight loss. Among the patients who died in the municipality, the signs / symptoms present were fever and dry cough (10 [100%]), dyspnoea (08 [80%]), (08 [80%]) low saturation, (01 [ 10%]) diarrhea and (01 [10%]) complained of an important headache. It is noteworthy that the presence of the aforementioned symptoms was associates in patients who died. Conclusion: Among symptomatic patients, fever and cough was the most common complaint in the study since among patients with mild illness, those with severe symptoms. The isolated gastrointestinal manifestation was also present in COVID-19 infection in patients. Thus, as a new disease and with a wide range of symptoms, infection with the new coronavirus should always be viewed as a possible differential diagnosis.