Original Research

Prediction of Disease Severity with Initial Symptoms in SARS-CoV-2Infection- A Single Center Study

Abdul Rehman Azeem1
Pak-Emirates Military Hospital, Rawalpindi
Muhammad Zafar Ali Qureshi1
Pak-Emirates Military Hospital, Rawalpindi
Maira Aleem1
Pak-Emirates Military Hospital, Rawalpindi
Syed Talha Hassan Gilani2
Combined Military Hospital, Karachi
Fatima Arif3
Pakistan Institute of Radiology & Imaging Karachi
Asad Rukshan1
Pak-Emirates Military Hospital, Rawalpindi

✉ Correspondence: Abdul Rehman Azeem Email: darazeem7@gmail.com

DOI https://doi.org/10.70302/jpsim.v7i2.2627
Volume: 7, Issue 2 Pages: 136–140 Published: 03 Jun 2026
Received: 01 Sep 2025 Revised: 13 Apr 2026 Accepted: 04 May 2026 Published Online: 03 Jun 2026

Abstract

Objective

The objective of this study was to predict disease severity with the help of initial symptoms in Covid-19 patients.

Methods

Ninety Nine coronavirus positive cases were recruited for the study. Their initial symptoms were recorded and correlated with parameters of disease severity like chest CT Severity Scores and laboratory parameters like C-reactive protein, serum Lactate dehydrogenase and serum ferritin. They were followed up over the period of 20 days and their initial symptoms were also correlated with mortality at 20th day.

Results

Fever was found to be the most common initial symptom in 58(59%) of patients, followed by sore throat 11 (11%) and shortness of breath 8(8%). Fever was also the first symptom in individuals with greatest mortality at 20th day among all age groups. Similarly, older age, greater CT severity scores (OR 8.14, 95% CI 1.82-36.25), raised CRS markers and lower oxygen saturations at room air (RR 1.18, 95% CI 1.07-1.30) were independently related to severe disease and higher mortality.

Conclusion

Fever as the first symptom was the most sensitive indicator of severe covid-19 infection especially in older population. Dyspnea followed by fever is the second most common symptom related to acute respiratory distress syndrome and severe covid infection.

Keywords
Covid Symptoms Severity Prediction.

How to Cite This Article

Azeem AR, Qureshi MZA, Aleem M, Gilani STH, Arif F, Rukshan A. Prediction of Disease Severity with Initial Symptoms in SARS-CoV-2Infection- A Single Center Study. J Pak Soc Intern Med. 2026;7(2):136–140. doi:10.70302/jpsim.v7i2.2627

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Conflict of Interest

All authors declare no competing interests.

Disclosed in accordance with ICMJE and COPE guidelines.

Funding

No specific funding was received for this research.

Funder information follows the Crossref Funder Registry standard.

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CC BY CC BY 4.0 This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. May be shared and adapted with attribution. © 2026 Journal of Pakistan Society of Internal Medicine.
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