Clinical-descriptive characters of SARS in National Institute for Research on Tropical Medicine-Bach Mai Hospital

Our descriptive-analytic observation study about clinical manifestations of SARS was performed on total 34 patients admitted to National Institute for Research on Tropical Medicine, Hanoi, Vietnam. There were one patient with COPD and another patient with hypertensive heart failure. The mean age is 37.4 14.4 (18-76), males (13/34 (38.2%) and females 21/34 (61.8%). The mean incubation time is 8.73.6 (2-16) days. The common signs and symptoms are fever (100%), fatigue (94%), dry cough (67.6%, myalgia (55.9%), abnormal lung sounds (52.9%), headache (50%), chest pain (50%). There were 13/34 patients with diarrhea (38.2%), 8/34 with conjunctival and integumental congestion (23.5%), 5/34 with coryza (11.8%) and 2/34 with productive cough (5.9%), 11 severe patients had marked findings of respiratory failure with tachypnea, SpO2< 85% and abundant abnormal lung sounds, including 4 patients required BiPAP ventilation support. The mean age of these severe patients (48.714.7) is significantly higher than of remaining patients (32.011.0) with p value=0.0008. All patients have survived and have no fever after 10.5 days on average. In conclusion: the clinical manifestations of SARS patients in our study are not specific as fever caused by other common virus except findings of respiratory failure and the diagnosis should base on epidemiologic factors and chest X-ray imaging. The old age and reparatory failure degree may be factors associated with progressive disease.