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

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.