rationale and design of a registry in a referral and educational medical center in tehran, iran: sina hospital covid-19 registry (shco-19r)

Coronavirus disease 2019 (covid-19) is caused by the novel coronavirus resulting in a highly contagious respiratory tract infection with an increased risk of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ards), which was first seen in wuhan, china. thus far, this virus has spread to many countries worldwide, including iran. multiple studies have assessed disease characteristics, viral genetics, and complications of covid-19 in the chinese population. however, there is limited data regarding patient characteristics and outcomes of infected cases outside of china. besides, risk factors of adverse outcomes are poorly identified in different populations. due to limited data in the iranian population affected by the virus, we aimed to design a registry of patients with covid-19 at sina hospital in tehran, iran [sina hospital covid-19 registry (shco-19r)] in this regard, to assess patient characteristics, imaging features, laboratory findings, management strategies, and adverse outcomes of iranian patients with covid-19 and their differences with other populations.