Epidemiological And Clinical Characteristics of The First 18 Patients with COVID-19 in Taiwan

Epidemiological And Clinical Characteristics of The First 18 Patients with COVID-19 in Taiwan

To understand the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of patients with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 （SARS-CoV-2） infection in Taiwan, we analyzed data from the National Notifiable Disease Surveillance System and epidemiological case investigation reports. We included all real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction （real-time RT-PCR） confirmed cases of coronavirus disease-2019 （COVID-19） from Jan 21 to Feb 14, 2020, and followed up until Feb 27, 2020. Eighteen cases were confirmed and all survived. Median follow-up period was 24.5 days （range: 14－35）. Of them, 16 （88.9%） were imported cases, and 2 （11.1%） were infected by imported cases within household. Their median age was 52 years （range: 21－74）；8 （44.4%） were men, and 9 （50%） had comorbidities. Symptoms included cough （72.2%）, fever （66.7%）, rhinorrhea （22.2%） and diarrhea （11.1%）；one patient （5.5%） was asymptomatic. According to the WHO definition of clinical syndromes associated with SARS-CoV-2, there were 8 （44.4%）, 9 （50.0%）, and 1 （5.6%） categorized as mild, moderate, and severe illness, respectively. At the end of follow-up, 9 cases met the criteria of discontinuation of isolation and 8 of them were discharged. The median time from admission to discontinuation of isolation was 21 days （range: 13-31） and the median duration of persistent RT-PCR positivity was 14 days （range: 4－22） and 15 days （range: 4－24） for upper and lower respiratory samples, respectively. The first 18 cases of COVID-19 in Taiwan were all imported or importation related, which were related to the early phase of COVID-19 epidemic. Because viral clearance may take more than 2 weeks, management plans for patients with mild illness is necessary to ensure the best use of medical care capacities during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.