SARS Covid-19 is said to be quite contagious. The COVID-19 epidemic has been a major shock to our societies and economies, highlighting society's reliance on humans on the front lines and at home, while also exposing systemic inequities in every domain, from health to the economy (UN WOMEN, 2021). The primary goal of this study was to assess the frequency of COVID-19 complications and their relationship to the care and preventative methods for COVID-19.
A total of 659 samples were studied, with 39.8% being male and 60.2% being female, which contradicts the male and female ratio of the Covid-19 infection report released by DGHS. Approximately one-third of the targeted male samples could not be reached due to a lack of interest or work/job outside the home during data collection. In terms of hospitalization of Covid-19 patients, this study discovered that more than half of the participants (59.5%) had been admitted to hospitals. A previous study found that 69.3% of people were isolated at home, while 27.9% and 2.8% were admitted to COVID-19 specialized hospitals and non-COVID-19 hospitals, respectively (Ali et al., 2021). The second wave of Covid-19 infection was occurring at the time of data collection for this study, which can be attributed to the reason for treating more patients in the hospital rather than at home.
According to the data, the majority of patients with co-morbidities had diabetes (22.9%), cardiovascular disease (19.7%), and asthma/COPD (7.9%). This finding is consistent with a previous study conducted in Bangladesh, which discovered that the majority of Covid-19 patients (34.6%) had diabetes as a comorbidity (Hossain et al., 2021). In contrast, hypertension (30%), diabetes (36%), and coronary heart disease (15%) were identified as the associated medical condition of Covid-19 patients in a hospital-based survey in China (Zhou et al., 2020). This indicates that non-communicable diseases vary greatly from country to country. Furthermore, people with any medical condition are susceptible to this infectious disease.
Every day, healthcare workers rely on personal protective equipment (PPE) to keep themselves and their patients safe from pathogens and contagious diseases. With the coronavirus epidemic spreading like wildfire, PPE is more important than ever. According to the current study, approximately 53.6% of respondents used PPE at work and 83.5% always wore masks when going outside. It was discovered that 77.6% and 82.4% of respondents who used PPE and masks, respectively, showed mild infection. A meta-analysis attempted to investigate the effects of face masks on virus transmission in healthcare and non-healthcare (e.g., community) settings and discovered that face masks were associated with an 82% lower risk of SARS, Middle East respiratory disease, and COVID-19 (Chu et al., 2020).
Similarly, Wang et al. recently reported on the potential role of PPE use in COVID-19 protection using a cohort of HCWs assigned to work in Wuhan (Wang et al., 2020). Using throat swab samples for SARS-CoV-2 real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and specific antibody levels evaluated with immunoglobulin M, immunoglobulin G, and immunoglobulin A by chemiluminescent kits, they discovered that none of the HCWs were infected with COVID-19 as a result of using PPE. Similarly to a previous study (Kim et al., 2021), the current study discovered a strong relationship between mask use and Covid-19 infection level. Furthermore, evidence suggests that people who have received the Covid-19 vaccine have fewer symptoms than unvaccinated people (CDC, 2021), which is consistent with the current study findings. Thus, this study demonstrates the importance of appropriate PPE, face masks, and vaccination in preventing Covid-19 infection among healthcare workers and the general population.
Covid-19 affects different people in different ways. The vast majority of infected people have mild to severe symptoms. The most common symptoms of this infectious disease, according to WHO, are fever, cough, fatigue, and loss of taste or smell (WHO, 2021b). It further states that infected persons may feel a sore throat, headaches, aches and pains, diarrhoea, skin rashes or discolouration of fingers or toes, red or irritated eyes, difficulties breathing or shortness of breath, speech or mobility loss, or dementia, as well as chest pain in extreme cases. The participants in this study exhibited nearly all of the Covid-19 symptoms listed by the World Health Organization. Fever (80.9%), dry cough (60.4%), myalgia (56.6%), headache (50.5%), sneezing (38.2%), chest pain (25.9%), and diarrhoea were among the most common symptoms reported by respondents (23.2%). During the early stages of Covid-19 infection, about 70% of respondents were treated at home by a certified physician. Antipyretics were prescribed to 86.7% of responders, antiallergics to 71.6%, antihistamines to 69.4%, antibiotics to 66.6%, vitamins to 53.5%, and oxygen therapy to 14.8%, implying that the participants were treated according to the Director General of Health Services of Bangladesh standards (DGHS 2021).
According to the findings, 60% of the participants were admitted to the hospital either directly or via home-to-hospital transportation. Antipyretic drugs were given to control fever, painkillers were given to relieve pain, oxygen was given to control respiratory distress, and saline was given to maintain proper hydration in a hospital-based study in Bangladesh (Bhuiyan et al., 2020). In addition, hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin was given to all patients to subside the associated medical conditions. The present study also showed that antipyretic (91.6%), anti-histamin (84.4%), antiallergic (83.4%), antibiotics (73.0%), vitamins (62.0%), antiviral (31.6%) and oxygen therapy (41.8%) was used for the treatment of hospitalized Covid-19 patients.
A logistic regression was performed with recovery time as the dependent variable and age, family income, BMI, number of co-morbidities, level of education, use of any form of tobacco, place of treatment, and post-COVID complications as covariates. The covariates family income, number of co-morbidities, tobacco use, place of treatment, and post-COVID complications were found to be related to recovery time. To date, no studies focusing on COVID-19 complications and their association with the pattern of COVID-19 prevention and treatment management have been conducted in Bangladesh; thus, it is presumed that the study findings will deliver as a threshold for additional studies.