Article Details

22/04/2026

Clinical characteristics and outcome of adult patients hospitalised with COVID-19 at Respiratory Unit in National Hospital Kandy, Sri Lanka

W H M D D Somarathna
H M R K G Nandasena, R M D Madegedara.
(04 - 2026)
1
The COVID-19 pandemic created a terrible chaotic situation worldwide. As it is a specific infectious condition, the nurses and doctors should possess a high degree of knowledge and skills to overcome this problem. This study was carried out to describe the clinical characteristics and outcomes of adult patients hospitalized with COVID-19 at National Hospital Kandy. Descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in Kandy National Hospital, Sri Lanka from March 2022 to August 2022. Patients presented with COVID-19 to the National Hospital Kandy for treatment were evaluated according to the study objectives. Patients who need hospital admission for treatments with CT value less than 30 at the admission were included for the study. The convenient sampling technique was applied to select 425 patients. The investigator administered structured data collection/extraction sheet was applied as study instrument for data collection. Data analysis was facilitated by SPSS version 25.0. The age of the study participants were ranged from 16 years to 87 years (Mean=57.37 years: SD=15.43 years). Majority of them were above 51 years (N=288: 67.7%). There was a male predominance (N=285: 67.1%). Diabetes was the medical complication seen among majority of the study participants (N=182: 42.8%). Mean pulse rate at the admission was 93/minute (SD=18.26). Mean blood pressures was 131.25mm/Hg(SD=23.1) systolic and 82.1mm/Hg (SD=13.2) diastole. Majority of them presented with respiratory rate less than 29/minute (N=237: 55.8%). Fever (N=196:46.1%), Dry cough (N=193: 45.4%) and the Shortness’s of breath (N= 198: 46.6%) were the most prevalent clinical symptoms of patients at the time of admission. Majority of patients have received antibiotics (N=282: 66.4%) as a treatment. Mean duration of the Hospital stay was 7.9 days (SD=5.5). Majority of patients recovered and discharged from the Hospital (N=257: 60.4%). Death rate of the patients was 14.2% (N=60). The study highlights that older age, and comorbidities increase the risk of hospitalization and adverse outcomes. Improved symptomatic treatment and targeted prevention strategies for high-risk populations are recommended