Clinical course and mortality risk of severe COVID-19

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Paul Weiss, Emory University; David R. Murdoch, University of Otago
• Language: English
• Date: 2020-03-17
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
• License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30633-4
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: LANCET
• Volume: 395
• Issue: 10229
• Start Page: 1014
• End Page: 1015
• Keywords: severity; China; hospitalization; pneumonia; COVID-19
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Health Care Management; Health Sciences, Immunology

Abstract

Several published reports of early clinical descriptions of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have emerged from Hubei province in China, and many more will come. These early reports, typically simple descriptive case series of patients hospitalised with COVID-19 (mostly with pneumonia), provide valuable information on the more severe end of the disease spectrum. We tend to hear more about the most severe cases in the early stages of a new disease, as these are the ones first brought to the public's attention and are associated with deaths. However, it is important to bear in mind that the current best estimate is that about 81% of people with COVID-19 have mild disease1 and never require hospitalisation. These cases have not yet featured much in published clinical descriptions.