The Coronavirus disease 2019, is a global pandemic that has brought a significant health challenge all over the world. Oman reported its first case of COVID-19 on 24 February 2020 and has reported an increasing number of cases recently. Understanding patient characteristics and demand on the healthcare system is essential to ensuring Oman can continue to provide high quality care. Aim and Objective: To describe the burden of COVID-19 and associated factors for more severe disease in Al-Buraimi Governorate, Oman.
Methodology
Methodology
We retrieved demographic and clinical data from electronic medical records for all COVID-19 laboratory-confirmed patients in Al-Buraimi Governorate from February 1 to August 31, 2020. We assessed the factors for hospitalization and outcome using chi-square test/fisher exact test, spearman's correlation, and multivariable logistic regression model in Epi info 7 and SPSS software (p ≤ 0.05 significance level).
Results
We identified 977 COVID-19 patients, with a prevalence rate of 8.4 per 1000 in Al-Buraimi Governorate, with rates of 9.5 per 1000 among Omani, and 7.4 per 1000 among non-Omanis. The male: female ratio was 3.1:1. Of COVID-19 patients, 11.7% were hospitalized, and 1.5% died. Diabetes (12.2%) and hypertension (10.8%) were the most prevalent chronic conditions among COVID-19 patients. Older patients (>60 years old) and those with comorbidities (chronic kidney disease, diabetes, heart disease, hypertension) were prone to hospitalization (p <0.001), intensive care (p <0.001), and death (p <0.001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis found that these risk factors were significantly associated with hospital admission (OR= 5.905, 95% CI 3.923-8.889; p <0.001), ICU admission (OR= 4.363, 95% CI 1.952-9.750; p <0.001), and death (OR= 6.785, 95% CI 2.295-20.062; p<0.001).
Conclusion
We found more cases among men and Omanis. Public health messaging for COVID-19 prevention should be tailored to inform these groups to slow the spread. Our findings are consistent with other studies, and local healthcare providers should be informed of the risk for severe disease among older patients and those with comorbidities.