Table 1.
Characteristics of the studies included in the meta-analysis (n = 30).
| Author | Location | Study type | Total case | Age (years)a | Sex (male/female) | Sampling time (days)b | Laboratory test for COVID-19 | Quality score/gradec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abrishami et al. [47] | Iran | Cross-sectional | 142 (77 confirmed) | 62.5 ± 15 (23–96) | 77/65 | 5 (3–9) | nasopharyngeal swab RT-PCR | 8/High |
| Argenziano et al. [28] | US | Retrospective case series | 1000 | 61.7 ± 17.5 (50–75) | 596/404 | NA | nasopharyngeal swab RT-PCR | 11/High |
| Arora et al. [48] | India | Cross-sectional | 75 | NA | 41/34 | NA | nasopharyngeal and conjunctival swab RT-PCR | 10/High |
| Atum et al. [29] | Turkey | Prospective case series | 40 | 41.4 ± 23.7(1–82) | 25/15 | NA | nasopharyngeal swab RT-PCR | 8/High |
| Cavalleri et al. [49] | Italy | Cross-sectional | 172 | 64.2 ± 13.4 | 117/55 | 7.2 ± 4.3 | nasopharyngeal and conjunctival swab RT-PCR | 10/High |
| Chen et al. [50] | China | Cross-sectional | 263 (Mobile cabin hospital) | 40 (16–68) | 134/129 | NA | nasopharyngeal swab RT-PCR | 10/High |
| 271 (Tongji hospital) | 50 (18–65) | 134/137 | ||||||
| Dolar-Szczasny et al. [30] | Poland | Prospective case series | 74 | 21–89 | 46/28 | <3 | nasopharyngeal and conjunctival swab RT-PCR | 8/High |
| Feng et al. [51] | US | Cross-sectional | 400 | 61.7 ± 15.5 | 233/167 | NA | nasopharyngeal swab RT-PCR | 8/High |
| Gangaputra and Patel [52] | US | Cross-sectional | 144 | NA | NA | NA | nasopharyngeal swab RT-PCR | 7/Moderate |
| Guan et al. [12] | China | Cross-sectional | 1099 | 47 (35–58) | 638/461 | NA | nasopharyngeal swab RT-PCR | 11/High |
| Güemes-Villahoz et al. [53] | Spain | Cross-sectional | 689 | NA | NA | NA | nasopharyngeal and conjunctival swab RT-PCR | 8/High |
| Hong et al. [31] | China | Prospective case series | 56 | 48 (24–68) | 31/25 | NA | nasopharyngeal swab RT-PCR | 9/High |
| Karimi et al. [32] | Iran | Prospective case series | 43 | 56 ± 13 | 29/14 | 3.3 (1–7) | nasopharyngeal and conjunctival swab RT-PCR | 9/High |
| Kumar et al. [33] | India | Prospective case series | 45 | 31.3 ± 12.8 (6–75) | 35/10 | NA | nasopharyngeal and conjunctival swab RT-PCR | 7/Moderate |
| Lee et al. [34] | Korea | Retrospective case series | 71 | 49 ± 18 | 15/56 | NA | nasopharyngeal swab RT-PCR | 7/Moderate |
| Li et al. [83] | China | Prospective case series | 59 | 41.8 ± 19.3 | 35/24 | 19.3 (1–50) | nasopharyngeal and conjunctival swab RT-PCR | 7/Moderate |
| Liu et al. [36] | China | Retrospective case series | 67 | 49 (22–83) | 36/31 | 6 (1–20) | nasopharyngeal swab RT-PCR | 8/High |
| Meduri et al. [37] | Italy | Prospective case series | 29 | 77.1 ± 12.6 (44–92) | 15/14 | NA | nasopharyngeal swab RT-PCR | 7/Moderate |
| Pirraglia et al. [54] | Italy | Cross-sectional | 43 | 70 (59–78) | 25/18 | 21.5 (10–34) | nasopharyngeal and conjunctival swab RT-PCR | 9/High |
| Seah et al. [38] | Singapore | Prospective case series | 17 | 37 (20–75) | 11/6 | NA | nasopharyngeal and conjunctival swab RT-PCR | 8/High |
| Shahriarirad et al. [39] | Iran | Retrospective case series | 113 | 53.8 ± 16.6 (20–99) | 71/42 | 5.6 | nasopharyngeal swab RT-PCR | 8/High |
| Shemer et al. [40] | Israel | Prospective case series | 16 | 58.7 ± 24.0 | 7/9 | NA | nasopharyngeal and conjunctival swab RT-PCR | 7/Moderate |
| Sindhuja et al. [41] | India | Retrospective case series | 127 | 38.8 (5–73) | 113/14 | 14–21 | nasopharyngeal and conjunctival swab RT-PCR | 9/High |
| Valente et al. [42] | Italy | Prospective case series | 27 | 7 | 20/7 | 7 (0–19) | nasopharyngeal and conjunctival swab RT-PCR | 10/High |
| Wei et al. [43] | China | Retrospective case series | 276 | 51 (41–58) | 155/121 | 6 (4–7) | nasopharyngeal swab RT-PCR | 9/High |
| Wu et al. [44] | China | Retrospective case series | 38 (28 confirmed) | 68 (53–76) | 25/14 | NA | nasopharyngeal and conjunctival swab RT-PCR | 9/High |
| Xia et al. [45] | China | Prospective case series | 30 | 54.5 ± 14.2 | 21/9 | 7.3 ± 3.8 | nasopharyngeal and conjunctival swab RT-PCR | 8/High |
| Xie et al. [46] | China | Retrospective case series | 33 | 57.6 ± 14.0 | 22/11 | 7 | nasopharyngeal and conjunctival swab RT-PCR | 7/Moderate |
| Zhang et al. [55] | China | Cross-sectional | 102 (72 confirmed) | 57.6 ± 14.9 | 48/54 | 18.2 ± 7.6 | nasopharyngeal and conjunctival swab RT-PCR | 7/Moderate |
| Zhou et al. [56] | China | Cross-sectional | 121 | 48 (22–89) | 53/68 | 15.0 ± 8.8 | nasopharyngeal and conjunctival swab RT-PCR | 8/High |
Abbreviations: NA: not available; RT-PCR: Real-time polymerase chain reaction.
a
Age presented as mean ± SD and/or median (range).
b
Sampling time presented as mean ± SD and/or median (range).
c
Quality assessment using the Quality Assessment Forms for cross-sectional/prevalence study recommended by Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) [21].