COVID-19: A Scope Research on Epidemiology and Clinical Course

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) Coronavirus (CoV) 2 infection and the associated coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are the most recent international health threat challenging our ability to protect populations, to avoid severe outcomes and to understand both the population dynamics of this new condition and the breath of individual responses. Gathering information on the clinical course of the disease and the risk of transmission is essential to design effective therapeutic solutions and preventive measures. The aim of the study proposed, to be carried out at University Hospital Center of "São João" (CHUSJ), is to recruit and follow-up a cohort of patients diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 infection, to evaluate the clinical course of SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 cases, to identify prognostic factors and to measure the risk of reinfection. Additionally, researchers intend to characterize the patients and household contacts to describe the dynamics of infection, to calculate household infection attack rate, and to perform the genetic sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 to understand determinants of disease course (namely long-term effects) and risk of household transmission. A sample of participants, identified during the process of evaluation of symptomatic individuals, at the same institution, and negative for SARS-CoV-2 will be selected as negative controls.

Participants will be consecutively recruited and the study is expected to enroll patients as long as the pandemic remains. Information will be gathered based on clinical individual charts, hospital data-bases (example: for administrative data) and individual computer assisted interviews to be performed at pre-defined intervals (3, 12 and 24 months) or according to clinical needs.

The project was approved by the local Ethical Committee and the Data Protection relevant authorities.