Abstract:
Introduction: We describe the clinical spectrum of COVID-19 cases in western
Kenya from 6 April 2020 to 31 May 2021, providing baseline data for further
studies into COVID-19 in Kenya.
Methods: We did a retrospective chart review of laboratory and inpatient files of
patients diagnosed and managed for COVID-19 at the Moi Teaching and Referral
Hospital in Kenya and analyzed the data using Stata ® version 16 (StataCorp LP,
College Station, TX, USA) and calculated measures of association at 95% CI.
Results: The patients (n = 1,770) had a mean age of 43 years (SD 20 years) and
55.4% were male. Close to 70% had asymptomatic disease, with the symptomatic
cases largely being respiratory in nature. One-quarter had comorbidities. The
case fatality rate was 13.6% (n = 240). Male sex increased the odds of mortality by
1.69 (95% CI 1.27–2.25; p ≤ 0.001), and the presence of comorbidities increased
the odds of mortality by 3.16 (95% CI 2.38–4.18; p ≤ 0.001). Those aged 59 years
and above were 18 times more likely to die from COVID-19 than those below 15
years of age (95% CI 1.61–90.66; p = 0.015).
Conclusion: COVID-19 had a significantly high mortality rate in western Kenya. Male
sex and the presence of comorbidities increased the risk of severe disease and mortality.
