Getting Negative for COVID-19: Role of Ethnicity and Demographic Factors

Abstract

Objective: To explore the relationship between ethnicity and demographic factors with the time taken by patients to get negative on PCR for COVID-19.

Study Design: Prospective Comparative Study.

Place and Duration of Study: Combined Military Hospital, Malir Pakistan, from Mar to May 2020.

Methodology: All patients who tested positive for COVID-19 with less than one week of exposure time and were admitted to the COVID-19 ward of Combined Military Hospital, Malir without any complications were included in the study. They were tested after every seven days with PCR. Time taken to get two consecutive negative tests were noted for each patient.

Results: Out of 84 patients included in the study, 12(14.3%) tested negative on the 7th day, 34(40.4%) on the 14th day and 38(45.3%) tested negative after 14 days. 17(20.2%) were Sindhi, 13(15.5%) were Muhajir, 19(22.6%) were Punjabi, 25(29.7%) were Pathan, and 10(11.9%) were Kashmiris. Chi-square revealed that ethnicity and advancing age have a statistically significant relationship (p-value<0.05) with the time taken by patients to get negative on PCR for COVID-19.

Conclusion: Ethnicity emerged as a significant factor in getting negative for COVID-19. Punjabis and Kashmiris required a shorter period to get negative than Sindhis and Pathans. Older age emerged as a factor requiring a longer period to get negative.