Epidemiological Study of COVID-19 Infections: Case of Ga East Municipal Hospital Treatment Centre - Kwabenya-Ghana

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic still poses a considerable threat to global health, resulting in an unprecedented demand for regular research to continuously identify and update its risk profiles to ensure relevant interventions.

Objectives :This study aimed to examine the epidemiological characteristics of the COVID-19 outbreak in Ghana and identify risk factors for severe COVID-19 disease.

Method: This was a cross-sectional study involving the data of patients with COVID-19 clinically managed at the Ga-East Municipal Hospital, the main COVID-19 treatment centre in Ghana, from 21st March to 21st June 2020. The data were retrieved from the electronic medical records and folders of the patients. It included sociodemographic characteristics, COVID-19 disease severity, and treatment outcomes. Binomial logistic regression was used to identify risk factors of severe COVID-19 illness.

Result: Among the 360 COVID-19 cases in this study, 55.3% were males, and 44.7% were females. Their mean age was 39.9±16.7years. Most of them were Ghanaians (92.8%) and employed (72.5%). The majority (93%) presented with mild disease, and hypertension (19.2%) was the most common comorbidity. The average length of hospital admission was 10.6±6.4day. Many of the cases recovered (98.6%), resulting in a case fatality of 1.4%. Finally, the logistic regression showed that increasing age (OR=1.12, p= 0.002) and diabetes mellitus (OR=19.85, p=0.007) are risk factors for severe COVID-19 disease.

Conclusion: Findings from the study confirmed that increasing age and diabetes mellitus are risk factors for severe COVID-19 disease. Thus, Ghana could prioritise these identified populations when implementing interventions to reduce the COVID-19 disease burden.