• Jamal Azfar Khan, Muhammad Irfan Khattak, Muhammad Luqman Satti, Mahwash Bazanjo, Nadia Aziz Ather, and Rabia Abbas.
• Department of Medicine, Pakistan Naval Ship Shifa Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan.
• J Coll Physicians Surg Pak. 2023 Aug 1; 33 (8): 857860857-860.

UnlabelledABSTRACT       Objective: To compare the clinical parameters of 4th and 5th COVID waves in Karachi, Pakistan.Study DesignDescriptive study. Place and Duration of the Study: PNS Shifa Hospital, Karachi, from July 2021 to February 2022.MethodologyAll patients with COVID-19 in PNS Shifa Hospital were included in the study. The patients were divided into two groups, those who had COVID-19 during the 4th wave, and others who had it during the 5th wave. The patients' demographic details, comorbidities, vaccination status, initial presentation, the severity of disease, clinical progress, and final disposal from the hospital were noted. A comparison of severity, length of hospital stays, and mortality was made between the groups.ResultsThere were 747 patients admitted during the Delta variant-dominated 4th wave of COVID-19, and 490 patients during the 5th wave, dominated by the Omicron variant. A vast majority of fifth-wave patients had the mild disease (87.35% vs. 49.39%), with significantly lower critical patients (2.04% vs. 7.09%). Vaccination was effective against both the Delta and the Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The mean length of stay in the hospital for patients was significantly lesser (p < 0.001) during the 5th wave as compared to the 4th wave (6.43 ± 3.37 vs. 9.56 ± 5.45 days). The mortality rate was 7.09% among patients admitted in the 4th wave and 2.04% in the 5th wave. This difference was statistically significant (p < 0.001).ConclusionThe severity of disease, length of hospital stays, and mortality were higher in the Delta variant-dominated 4th wave of COVID-19 as compared to the Omicron variant-dominated 5th wave in Pakistan. The vaccination was effective against both the Delta and the Omicron variant of COVID 19, as the mortality rate among the vaccinated patients during the two waves was not significantly different.Key WordsCOVID 19, Vaccination, Disease outcome, Mortality.

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