COVID-19 symptoms predictive of healthcare workers’ SARS-CoV-2 PCR results

Abstract

Background Coronavirus 2019 disease (COVID-19) is caused by the virus SARS-CoV-2, transmissible both person-to-person and from contaminated surfaces. Early COVID-19 detection among healthcare workers (HCWs) is crucial for protecting patients and the healthcare workforce. Because of limited testing capacity, symptom-based screening may prioritize testing and increase diagnostic accuracy.

Diagnostic accuracy of symptoms as a diagnostic tool for SARS-CoV 2 infection: a cross-sectional study in a cohort of 2,173 patients 

“…The most prevalent symptoms were: asthenia, headache and cough (63.36%, 60.22% and 60. 08% respectively), similar to those reported in other series (16,19,20) . The symptomatology that was signi cantly associated to the SARS-CoV-2 infection was the presence of anosmia, with an OR of 3.…”

Protecting the front line: a cross-sectional survey analysis of the occupational factors contributing to healthcare workers’ infection and psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic in the USA

“…[13][14][15] Overall, our results corroborate presumptions regarding the correlation between various risk factors and HCW infection with more recent studies showing adequacy of PPE, clinical settings, gender and ethnic background as important factors of HCW infection. [22][23][24][25] Our sample of HCWs, overall had higher reported COVID-19 infection risk (29%) compared with general population estimates. 26 Furthermore, unlike other studies, we sampled a diverse set of HCWs and explored the impact of secondary factors, including specific role in the healthcare industry, the effects of isolation while being infected, the risks of family members, and the effects of coworkers being afflicted with COVID-19 on psychological wellbeing.…”

Predictors of Incident Viral Symptoms Ascertained in the Era of Covid-19

“…However, the specific viral symptoms repeatedly queried in our population were developed based on available evidence regarding the nature of SARS-CoV-2 infection, [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18] and similar viral diseases, including the common cold and influenza for example, very likely share common properties related to an individual's susceptibility to infection. 25 In addition, independent of commonalities across easily transmissible viral diseases, there are shared phenomena related to the human immune system's general vulnerability to viral infection.…”

“…9 While the virus may be asymptomatic, a variety of symptom clusters associated with the disease have been identified, often including fever, but ranging from typical respiratory symptoms to gastrointestinal afflictions to somewhat idiosyncratic findings such as anosmia/ageusia and conjunctivitis. [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18] In the past, ascertainment of viral symptoms has relied on assessments of those seeking medical care or retrospective surveys that may be prone to recall bias. Given the current near-ubiquity of smartphones and use of related mobile apps, technology is now available to regularly and repeatedly query large numbers of individuals over time, providing access to symptom development as it arises.…”