The characteristics and outcomes of COVID-19 positive Haematology patients at a Tertiary Hospital in Western Cape South Africa
 
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1
University of Cape Town Barnard Fuller Building, Anzio Rd, Observatory, Cape Town, 7935 South Africa
 
2
University of Cape Town The characteristics and outcomes of COVID-19 positive Haematology patients at a Tertiary Hospital in Western Cape South Africa South Africa
 
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University of Cape Town
 
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Universisty of Cape Town Barnard Fuller Building, Anzio Rd, Observatory, Cape Town, 7935 South Africa
 
 
Publication date: 2023-04-26
 
 
Popul. Med. 2023;5(Supplement):A1504
 
ABSTRACT
Introduction:
Patients with haematological diseases, commonly have lasting immunodeficiency due to their disease or related treatments. Research suggests that COVID-19 positive patients with haematological diseases have worse outcomes than non-haematological patients however, there is limited data from Africa and South Africa.

Methods:
A retrospective review of all COVID-19 positive patients with an existing Haematology diagnosis from January 2020 to April 2021 (encompassing two waves of COVID-19), at Groote Schuur Hospital. Descriptive and inferential statistics to evaluate data.

Results:
A total of 53 patients with the haematological disease were identified(35 infected in the first wave and 18 in the second wave). Of these participants, 51% were male with a median age of 47.5 years (IQR:35.6-60.3); half were because of severe COVID-19 illness (47%), 28% were diagnosed during non-covid admission and 25% were outpatients. Lymphoma was the most common haematological diagnosis(45%), followed by those with cytopenias or myeloma/plasma cell disorders (each 13%). The majority of cases had more than one comorbidity (62%), were HIV negative (81%), were non-smokers (77%) and had an ECOG (Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group) score of 0 (40%).  The most commonly reported symptoms were shortness of breath (53%), cough (51%) and fever (38%) while 17% of patients reported no symptoms. Prior to COVID-19 infection, 40 patients (75%) had a survival prognosis of >12 months of whom 13% succumbed to COVID-19. Of the 13 patients (25%) with a survival prognosis of

ISSN:2654-1459
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