Objective: To compare the clinical manifestations of omicron phase versus previous strains phase of Covid-19 infection in a tertiary care hospital of Islamabad, Pakistan.
Methodology: This descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out at PAF Hospital, Islamabad from April to August 2022. The study included 385 patients of which, 167 had omicron strain while 218 had strains other than omicron. Frequency of symptoms was recorded on specified questionnaire.
Results: Most prevalent symptoms of non-omicron strains were fever (92.7%), olfactory dysfunction (82.1%), taste disturbance (81.2%), sore throat (74.3%) and lethargy (74.3%). In omicron strain, fever (91.6%), sore throat (80.8%), lethargy (78.4%), odynophagia (73.7%) and cough (70.7%) were dominant.
Conclusion: SARS-CoV 2 is rapidly changing its strains. Each strain has different pattern of symptoms. Continuous monitoring of strain type and its symptoms is need of hour to combat Covid-19 infection.
Key words: Covid-19, Corona virus, SARS-CoV 2, Omicron, pandemic, otorhinolaryngology.
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