TITLE:
COVID-19 and Comorbidities: Experience of the Epidemic Treatment Center of the Abass Ndao Hospital Center
AUTHORS:
Ndeye Fatou Ngom, Djiby Sow, Ndeye Siga Faye, Fulgence Abdou Faye, Michel Assane Ndour, Demba Diedhiou, Ousseynou Ka, Maimouna Ndour
KEYWORDS:
COVID-19, Comorbidities, Lethality, Senegal
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Infectious Diseases,
Vol.15 No.4,
November
7,
2025
ABSTRACT: Introduction: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by SARS-CoV-2. It has rapidly spread worldwide, causing a pandemic since March 11, 2020. Elderly patients or those with underlying chronic illnesses are more likely to develop severe forms of COVID-19. This motivated us to conduct this study. Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective, descriptive, and analytical study conducted at the CTE of the Abass Ndao Hospital Center in Dakar. We used an existing database populated with patient records and consultation logs. Data analysis was performed using SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) version 18 software. Results: A total of 340 patients hospitalized for COVID-19 included 234, or 68.8%, with comorbidities. The sex ratio was 0.7 and the mean age was 60.6 years. The most frequent comorbidities were endocrine (82.5%), cardiovascular (46.2%), and renal (12%). The main clinical signs were asthenia (90.2%), dyspnea (77.4%), cough (65.4%), body aches (53%), fever (47%), headache (37.2%), anorexia (35%), myalgia (29.5%), and chest pain (27.8%). The RT-PCR test was positive in 86.3% of cases. The D-dimer level was ≥1000 ng/ml (54.3%), while the C-reactive protein level ≥ 100 mg/l (32.5%). Chest CT scans (96.05%) revealed severe (8.1%) and critical (15.4%) lung lesions. Pulmonary embolism was found in 4 patients. Anti-COVID-19 treatment was dominated by antibiotics (99.6%), corticosteroid therapy (91.5%), anticoagulants (98.7%), and hydroxychloroquine (21.29%). The presence of comorbidities and age > 60 years were linked to disease severity. Mortality of 14.1% was associated with the presence of comorbidities (p = 0.024). Conclusion: Our results show a high frequency of comorbidities in the field of COVID-19 in more than half (68.8%) of the people hospitalized in Abasse Ndao. These associated with advanced age also was significantly associated with disease severity and a case fatality rate of 14.1%, hence the need for special attention to these specific groups.