Introduction:

The first case of COVID-19 in Paraguay was confirmed on March 7, 2020, however, there is limited information about the characteristics of individuals who developed the disease in the country.

Objective:

to characterize clinically and epidemiologically confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Alto Paraná from August 12 to October 20, 2020.

Methods:

A retrospective study was carried out using COVID-19 case registries recorded by the Ministry of Health of Paraguay. 1754 cases of COVID-19 confirmed by the Regional Laboratory of Molecular Epidemiology from residents of Alto Paraná were studied. Demographic (age, sex, residence) and clinical data (symptoms, comorbidity, hospitalization and death) were analyzed. The data were analyzed by EPIINFO, using descriptive statistics and the chi square test to establish an association between risk factors and mortality at a significance level of 0.05.

Results:

Among 1,754 confirmed cases, 53.2% were female, 48.5% belonged to the group 20 to 39 years, 51.6% were from Ciudad del Este, and 16.5% were healthcare workers. 77.3% developed symptoms, cough and headache were reported more frequently. 18,9% were admitted to hospital, 2,8% were hospitalized in a critical unit and 7.3% died. The risk of death was significantly (p <0.001) associated with male sex (OR: 2.9 [95% CI = 1.9-4.2]), advancing patient age (≥60 years) (OR: 15.2 [95% CI = 10.2-22.6]), and the presence of comorbidities such as diabetes mellitus (OR: 17.5 [95% CI = 11.6-26.5]), arterial hypertension (OR: 15.9 [95% CI = 10 , 2-25.1]) and chronic heart disease (OR: 15.3 [95% CI = 10.0-23.4]).

Conclusion:

Most of the cases were in adults (aged 20 to 39 years), from Ciudad del Este, with symptoms such as cough and headache. Risk factors associated with mortality were male sex, age ≥60 years and the presence of a comorbidity, such as diabetes mellitus and arterial hypertension.

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