Delay of Detection Of COVID-19 Patients In Bangladesh; An Application To Cox Proportional Hazard Model

Objective : To delineate the survival rate of the patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) who did the diagnostic tests lately after the development of symptoms. The aim is to determine the socio-demographic risk factors associated with the delay of the detection of COVID-19 patients. Methods : For this cross-sectional study, 300 patients were selected who were diagnosed as COVID-19 patients in the Molecular Biology Laboratory of Chittagong Medical College, Chattogram, Bangladesh. Data were collected from May to July 2020. Clinical characteristics were obtained from over phone interviews and laboratory diagnosis by Real-time Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction (rRT-PCR). Cox proportional hazard model is applied to estimate risk factors affecting the delay of detection of COVID-19 patients. Result : Female mortality rate was 44.9% higher compared to males, graduates died 32% more than undergraduates, unmarried peoples’ death rate were 56% more than married and those who were in traveling irregularly and in contact with symptomatic patients, were 86% more died than non-travelers. Conclusion : Early diagnosis of COVID-19 can save a huge amount of lives and special attention should be emphasized on the significant explanatory variable.