Background and study aim:Despite the increasing prevalence, morbidity, and mortality associated with Covid-19, there is ‎paucity of data locally assessing independent factors such as demographic and clinical data ‎predicting Covid-19 positivity. This study was designed to investigate the likely predictors of ‎Covid-19 positivity in Ndokwa-West Local Government Area of Delta State Nigeria‎.‎
Patients and method:‎‎‎A retrospective cohort study was conducted among 1133 individuals who undertook the RT-PCR ‎Covid-19 test from April 2020 to August 2021 in Ndokwa-West Local Government Area of Delta ‎State Nigeria. Both bivariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to ‎identify independent predictors that are associated with Covid-19 positivity‎.‎
Results:A total of 1133 patients were tested for COVID-19, with 67 confirmed cases. Socio-demographic ‎variables independently predicting Covid-19 positivity were age (OR=188.0 95% CI=17.011-‎‎2077.717), male sex (OR=1.623 95% CI=0.950-2.775), traveling in the last 14 days prior to the ‎Covid-19 test (OR=1.761 95% CI=1.003-3.092) and the following presenting symptoms: cough ‎‎(OR=1.229 95% CI=0.865-2.706), shortness of breath (OR=23.202 95% CI=8.821-61.030), ‎vomiting (OR=2.211 95% CI=1.077-4.540), and nausea (OR=10.130 95% CI=5.943-17.267). ‎Others were co-morbidity (OR=2.048 95% CI=1.103-3.802), and other severe life threatening ‎illnesses (OR=1.994 95% CI=1.187-3.348)‎‎‎‎.
Conclusion: The study highlighted the independent predictors of Covid-19 positivity, which was similar to the ‎national level. This finding should guide health workers and policymakers at the local and national ‎levels in implementing best Covid-19 testing and care practices‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎.