The factors predicting pneumonia in COVID-19 patients: preliminary results from a university hospital in Turkey

Authors: HASAN SELÇUK ÖZGER, PINAR AYSERT YILDIZ, ÜMMÜGÜLSÜM GAYGISIZ, ASİYE UĞRAŞ DİKMEN, ZEHRA DEMİRBAŞ GÜLMEZ, MEHMET YILDIZ, ESİN ŞENOL, KENAN HIZEL, ÖZLEM GÜZEL TUNÇCAN, KAYHAN ÇAĞLAR, GÜLENDAM BOZDAYI, NURDAN KÖKTÜRK, TANSU ULUKAVAK ÇİFTÇİ, ŞAHENDER GÜLBİN AYGENCEL BIKMAZ, MELDA TÜRKOĞLU, MÜGE AYDOĞDU, LALE KARABIYIK, ABDURRAHMAN TUFAN, GONCA ERBAŞ, HÜSEYİN KORAY KILIÇ, AYFER KELEŞ, FİKRET BİLDİK, İSA KILIÇASLAN, MEHMET AKİF KARAMERCAN, MEHMET ALİ ASLANER, AHMET DEMİRCAN, MUSTAFA KAVUTÇU, ÖZLEM GÜLBAHAR, MEHMET ARHAN, HASAN BOSTANCI, HAKAN TUTAR, NAZLIHAN BOYACI DÜNDAR, İPEK KIVILCIM OĞUZÜLGEN, MURAT DİZBAY

Abstract: Background/aim: Pneumonia is the most serious clinical presentation of COVID-19. This study aimed to determine the demographic, clinical, and laboratory findings that can properly predict COVID-19 pneumonia. Materials and methods: This study was conducted in the Gazi University hospital. All hospitalized patients with confirmed and suspected SARS-CoV-2 infection between 16 March 2020 and 30 April 2020 were analyzed retrospectively. COVID-19 patients were separated into two groups, pneumonia and nonpneumonia, and then compared to determine predicting factors for COVID-19 pneumonia. Variables that had a P-value of less than 0.20 and were not correlated with each other were included in the logistic regression model. Results: Of the 247 patients included in the study 58% were female, and the median age was 40. COVID-19 was confirmed in 70.9% of these patients. Among the confirmed COVID-19 cases, 21.4% had pneumonia. In the multivariate analysis male sex (P = 0.028), hypertension (P = 0.022), and shortness of breath on hospital admission (P = 0.025) were significant factors predicting COVID-19 pneumonia. Conclusion: Shortness of breath, male sex, and hypertension were significant for predicting COVID-19 pneumonia on admission. Patients with these factors should be evaluated more carefully for diagnostic procedures, such as thorax CT.

Keywords: COVID-19, pneumonia, predicting factors

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