Demographics, clinical characteristics and outcomes among 197 patients with COVID-19 in the Gold Coast area

Clinical characteristics and outcomes of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients have been varied internationally but have not been studied in an Australian cohort.

To describe characteristics and outcomes of approximately the first 200 documented COVID-19 cases during the first outbreak in the Gold Coast.

Retrospective observational cohort study of COVID-19 patients managed by Gold Coast Hospital and Health Service (GCHHS). Demographics, clinical characteristics and outcomes data were collected.

One hundred and ninety-seven patients were included (mean age 45 years); 52.3% were female and 9.1% were healthcare workers. Most were overseas travellers (53.8%), contacts of a local confirmed case (25.4%) or cruise ship passengers (17.3%). The commonest comorbidities were hypertension (14.2%) and asthma (11.2%). The commonest symptoms were cough (74.1%), fever (58.9%), sore throat (48.7%), headache (48.7%) and rhinorrhoea (46.2%). Sixty-three patients were hospitalised and the rest admitted to a 'virtual ward'. Of 63 hospitalised patients, 5 (7.9%) required intensive care unit (ICU) admission and 3 (4.8%) required intubation. No patients died. Due to low numbers of accurate exposure dates, the incubation period could not be reliably calculated for a significant proportion of the cohort. Average duration of symptoms was 14 days, time from first symptom to hospitalisation was 5.3 days and time from first symptom to ICU admission was 11.6 days. The majority (88%) experienced mild disease and achieved complete symptom resolution (97%). Nasopharyngeal swab polymerase chain reaction was the main diagnostic method (99%). Twenty-four patients received anti-viral pharmacotherapy, with 87.5% getting hydroxychloroquine.

The present study provides characteristics and outcomes of the first 197 patients with COVID-19 in the Gold Coast.