Comparison of confirmed COVID‐19 with SARS and MERS cases ‐ Clinical characteristics, laboratory findings, radiographic signs and outcomes: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

Pormohammad, Ali; Ghorbani, Saied; Khatami, Alireza; Farzi, Rana; Baradaran, Behzad; Turner, Diana L.; Turner, Raymond J.; Bahr, Nathan C.; Idrovo, Juan‐Pablo

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.