An analysis of patient self-reported COVID-19 symptoms during the first wave of the pandemic in Ireland.
COVID-19
Clinical characteristics
Digital Health
Innovation
Symptoms
Journal
Irish journal of medical science
ISSN: 1863-4362
Titre abrégé: Ir J Med Sci
Pays: Ireland
ID NLM: 7806864
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
Apr 2022
Apr 2022
Historique:
received:
05
03
2021
accepted:
09
03
2021
pubmed:
27
3
2021
medline:
8
4
2022
entrez:
26
3
2021
Statut:
ppublish
Résumé
Since the outbreak of COVID-19 in December 2019, there have been more than 115 million cases worldwide (1). Symptoms of COVID-19 vary widely and the spectrum of clinical presentation has yet to be fully characterised (2). Many countries have detailed their early experience with COVID-19, with a focus on the clinical characteristics of the disease. However, to our knowledge, there has been no such study detailing symptoms in the Irish population. Our aim is to describe COVID-19 symptoms in the Irish population at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and compare symptoms between those reporting positive and negative test results. A Web page MyCovidSymptoms.ie was created by researchers at the National University of Ireland, Galway, in April 2020 to investigate COVID-19 symptoms in Ireland. The Web page invited participants to self-report RT-PCR test outcome data (positive, negative, untested), temperature and a range of symptoms (cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, loss of taste, loss of smell). One hundred and twenty-three Irish participants who had a RT-PCR test for COVID-19 logged their symptoms. Eighty-four patients reported that they tested positive for COVID-19, and 39 patients reported a negative COVID-19 test. In our cohort of respondents with a positive COVID-19 test, 49/84 (58%) respondents reported a cough. Of the 39 respondents with a negative COVID-19 test, 17 (44%) reported having a cough. The distribution of temperature was similar in both those with and without COVID-19. Levels of self-reported fatigue were high in both groups with 65/84 (77%) of COVID-19-positive patients reporting fatigue and 30/39 (77%) of those who were COVID-19-negative reporting fatigue. New symptoms emerging at the time of data collection included loss of taste and smell. We demonstrated a higher proportion of loss of smell (p = 0.02) and taste (p = 0.01) in those reporting a positive result, compared to those reporting a negative result. These data represents an early picture of the clinical characteristics of COVID-19 in an Irish population. It also highlights the potential use of self-reported data globally as a powerful tool in helping with the pandemic.
Sections du résumé
BACKGROUND
BACKGROUND
Since the outbreak of COVID-19 in December 2019, there have been more than 115 million cases worldwide (1). Symptoms of COVID-19 vary widely and the spectrum of clinical presentation has yet to be fully characterised (2). Many countries have detailed their early experience with COVID-19, with a focus on the clinical characteristics of the disease. However, to our knowledge, there has been no such study detailing symptoms in the Irish population.
AIM
OBJECTIVE
Our aim is to describe COVID-19 symptoms in the Irish population at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and compare symptoms between those reporting positive and negative test results.
METHOD
METHODS
A Web page MyCovidSymptoms.ie was created by researchers at the National University of Ireland, Galway, in April 2020 to investigate COVID-19 symptoms in Ireland. The Web page invited participants to self-report RT-PCR test outcome data (positive, negative, untested), temperature and a range of symptoms (cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, loss of taste, loss of smell).
RESULTS
RESULTS
One hundred and twenty-three Irish participants who had a RT-PCR test for COVID-19 logged their symptoms. Eighty-four patients reported that they tested positive for COVID-19, and 39 patients reported a negative COVID-19 test. In our cohort of respondents with a positive COVID-19 test, 49/84 (58%) respondents reported a cough. Of the 39 respondents with a negative COVID-19 test, 17 (44%) reported having a cough. The distribution of temperature was similar in both those with and without COVID-19. Levels of self-reported fatigue were high in both groups with 65/84 (77%) of COVID-19-positive patients reporting fatigue and 30/39 (77%) of those who were COVID-19-negative reporting fatigue. New symptoms emerging at the time of data collection included loss of taste and smell. We demonstrated a higher proportion of loss of smell (p = 0.02) and taste (p = 0.01) in those reporting a positive result, compared to those reporting a negative result.
CONCLUSION
CONCLUSIONS
These data represents an early picture of the clinical characteristics of COVID-19 in an Irish population. It also highlights the potential use of self-reported data globally as a powerful tool in helping with the pandemic.
Identifiants
pubmed: 33768443
doi: 10.1007/s11845-021-02598-z
pii: 10.1007/s11845-021-02598-z
pmc: PMC7993982
doi:
Types de publication
Journal Article
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Pagination
543-546Informations de copyright
© 2021. Royal Academy of Medicine in Ireland.
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