Clinical Characteristics of Coronavirus Pneumonia 2019 (COVID-19): An Updated Systematic Review

Abstract

[Abstract]. Objective: Clinical characteristics of novel coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19) have been described in numerous studies but yielded varying results. We aimed to conduct a systematic review on scientific literatures and to synthesize critical data on clinical traits of COVID-19 from its initial outbreak to pandemic. Methods: Systematic searches were conducted to identify retrospective observational study that contained clinical characteristics on COVID-19 through multiple databases. Two reviewers independently evaluated eligible publications. Data on clinical characteristics of COVID-19 were extracted and analyzed. Results: Seventy-two retrospective studies demonstrating the clinical characteristics of COVID-19 were included. A total of 3470 COVID-19 patients were synthesized to the final analysis in an unbiased manner. The most common symptom was fever (2878 [83.0%]), and 63.4% of the patients presented fever as onset symptom. There were 2528 [88.2%] of 2866 cases had abnormal lung findings on chest CT scan. Laboratory findings showed that 1498 [62.8%] of 2387 cases had lymphopenia, and 1354 [64.8%] of 2091 cases had an increased level of C-reactive protein (CRP). A total of 185 [11.5%] patients were admitted to intensive care unit (ICU) while the overall case fatality rate (CFR) was 3.7%. Compared to patients admitted outside of Hubei, China, those from Hubei had a significant higher ICU admission rate (21.9% vs. 2.5%, p<0.001). Also, CFR attributed to COVID-19 was significantly higher in Hubei than that of non-Hubei admissions (10.4% vs. 0.6%, p<0.001). Interpretation: This large patient-based systematic review presents a more precise profiling of the COVID-19 from its outbreak to current pandemic. Dynamic evolvements of COVID-19 are needed to be characterized in future studies.