Clinical and epidemiological characteristics of the first 150 patients with COVID-19 in Lebanon: a prospective descriptive study.

Background: Clinical features of confirmed COVID-19 cases cover a wide spectrum.

Aims: To study the clinical, radiological and virological features of the first 150 patients with COVID-19 in Lebanon.

Methods: Our university hospital was designated as the primary COVID-19 care centre in Lebanon.

Epidemics and local governments in struggling nations: COVID-19 in Lebanon.

Municipalities in Lebanon represent local governments at the basic community level. The proximity of the municipality to the local community and its knowledge of available resources, can be crucial in easing the impact of any disaster. This study aimed to document the range of preparedness/reactivity of municipalities as COVID-19 swept through Lebanon.

Questioning the sex-specific differences in the association of smoking on the survival rate of hospitalized COVID-19 patients.

Introduction: In the absence of a universally accepted association between smoking and COVID-19 health outcomes, we investigated this relationship in a representative cohort from one of the world's highest tobacco consuming regions. This is the first report from the Middle East and North Africa that tackles specifically the association of smoking and COVID-19 mortality while demonstrating a novel sex-discrepancy in the survival rates among patients.

Methods: Clinical data for 743 hospitalized COVID-19 patients was retrospectively collected from the leading centre for COVID-19 testing and treatment in Lebanon.