ABSTRACT
Background: COVID-19 is currently one of the most infectious diseases worldwide. In this study, we focused on the mild and moderate cases of COVID-19 that can present with mild respiratory symptoms or non-respiratory symptoms. Many of that cases got miss diagnoses. We aim to help emergency physicians in reaching a proper and faster diagnosis of COVID-19 cases. Method: In this retrospective cross-sectional qualitative study, we collected 100 confirmed cases of COVID-19 that were presented in April 2020 in Al Wakra Hospital, Qatar. All that cases were mild-moderate cases without severe respiratory symptoms. We reviewed the electronic files on patient presentation, emergency department physician’s note, temperature data, and chest X-ray findings. Result: Our result showed about 49% of the total COVID-19 confirmed cases had respiratory symptoms, while the remaining 51% had no respiratory symptoms. The respiratory symptoms, such as cough and sore throat, and non-respiratory symptoms like headache, vomiting, abdominal pain, and skin rash. Regarding fever presentation, we found that 66% of cases had a fever, while 34% had no fever complaints. The most frequently observed body temperature of patients was 37+ °C, followed by 38+ °C, 36+ °C, and 39+ °C. About 41% of cases had non-significant X-ray findings, and 40% cases had significant X-ray findings. The remaining 19% of cases did not undergo any X-ray examination due to mild and stable presentation. Conclusion: The presentations and symptoms of a mild-moderate case of COVID-19 are not respiratory only, there are extra-pulmonary symptoms and presentations should be considered. The most common presentation for mild-moderate COVID-19 was found to be fever. Chest X-ray may be performed depending on the patient’s condition, red flags, and abnormal findings in clinical examination, and should not be routine in cases with the mild presentation of COVID-19 suspicion in the emergency department.