| Introduction: Within this large-scale study, we compared clinical symptoms, laboratory
findings, radiographic signs, and outcomes of COVID-19, SARS, and MERS to
find unique features.
Method: We searched all relevant literature published up to February 28, 2020.
Depending on the heterogeneity test, we used either random or fixed-effect models
to analyze the appropriateness of the pooled results. Study has been registered in
the PROSPERO database (ID 176106).
Result: Overall 114 articles included in this study; 52 251 COVID-19 confirmed
patients (20 studies), 10 037 SARS (51 studies), and 8139 MERS patients (43 studies)
were included. The most common symptom was fever; COVID-19 (85.6%, P < .001),
SARS (96%, P < .001), and MERS (74%, P < .001), respectively. Analysis showed that
84% of Covid-19 patients, 86% of SARS patients, and 74.7% of MERS patients had
an abnormal chest X-ray. The mortality rate in COVID-19 (5.6%, P < .001) was lower
than SARS (13%, P < .001) and MERS (35%, P < .001) between all confirmed patients.
Conclusions: At the time of submission, the mortality rate in COVID-19 confirmed
cases is lower than in SARS- and MERS-infected patients. Clinical outcomes and findings
would be biased by reporting only confirmed cases, and this should be considered
when interpreting the data. |