Muscat: The Ministry of Health has released details of a study conducted to identify hospital admissions, intensive care units (ICUs) admissions and deaths related to the disease.
In this study, 68,967 laboratory-confirmed cases of Covid-l9- disease were included, diagnosed from February 29 to July 19, 2020.
The study revealed that (74%) of the patients were males in the age group between 15 and 60 years. Half of the cases were registered in Muscat
Factors including gender, age groups, nationality, and location, as well as symptoms of fever, cough, and sore throat were studied. Furthermore, the study included the effect of the following chronic conditions: diabetes, hypertension, asthma, BMI >40, nervous system diseases, chronic lung diseases, patients using immunosuppressive drugs, chronic kidney disease, chronic blood cell disease, and chronic liver disease. Pregnancy was among the factors included in the study.
With the registration of the first case of Covid 19- in the Sultanate on February 24, 2020, as a travel-related case followed by the spread of the disease in line with the widespread of the pandemic worldwide, an increase in the number of cases and deaths has been observed in the Sultanate, MOH said.
The aim of this study is to facilitate the classification of risks for infected patients, especially the elderly, before and when they enter the hospital. By this means, it would help in improving the acceptance protocols for patients who require admission, in addition to improving the efficiency of epidemiological surveillance of Covid 19- patients.
It is hoped that the results of this study, conducted by the MOH's Directorate General of Disease Surveillance and Control, will enable the country's health sector to better manage the pandemic highlighting the most vulnerable groups, in addition to employing the results of this study in the classification of vaccine target groups.
To achieve these objectives, this study was conducted through data obtained from the National Surveillance Database of Covid-19.
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