• Fatemah O Kamel, Rania M Magadmi, Sulafa T Alqutub, Maha Badawi, Fatin Al-Sayes, Mazen Badawi, Tariq A Madni, Areej Alhothali, Ehab A Abozinadah, and Soheir Adam.
• Pharmacology Department, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
• J Infect Public Health. 2021 Jun 1; 14 (6): 709-716.

BackgroundCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. The clinical features of COVID-19 were mentioned in previous studies. However, risk factors for COVID-19 are not fully recognized. The aim of this study is to characterize risk factors and clinical features of COVID-19 disease in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.MethodsA retrospective, chart-review, case-control study was conducted at King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Demographic, clinical, radiological, and laboratory data on patients diagnosed between March 18 and May 18, 2020 were collected and analyzed.ResultsWe reviewed medical records on 297 suspected cases of COVID-19. Of these, 175 (59%) tested positive for COVID-19 by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and considered as cases, while 122 (41%) tested negative and considered as control. COVID-19 positive cases were more likely to be males, and non-health care providers. Hypertension (15%), diabetes (10%) and two or more concurrent comorbidities (54.4%) were more prevalent among COVID-19 patients. Patients presented with fever, cough, and loss of taste/smell were more likely to test positive for COVID-19 (P = 0.001, 0.008, 0.008; respectively). Radiological evidence of pneumonia was associated with confirmed COVID-19 disease (P = 0.001). Shortness of breath and gastrointestinal symptoms were not associated with the risk of COVID-19 at presentation. On admission, white blood cells, neutrophils, lymphocytes, eosinophils, basophils, and platelets were significantly lower among COVID-19 patients compared with controls. Surprisingly, D-Dimer levels were lower among COVID-19 positive patients when compared with controls.ConclusionMale gender, hypertension, and diabetes are the most commonly observed risk factors associated with COVID-19 disease in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. COVID-19 patient had significantly lower lymphocyte and neutrophil counts.Copyright © 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

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