The research study used data from an app that tracked and analyzed participants from the UK and US. It also followed the symptoms they experienced.
Dr. Jan Patterson, an infectious disease specialist at UT Health San Antonio and a member of the Texas Medical Association, called the findings “interesting.”
“What they found was that they could divide themselves into six different groups that had to do with the severity of their outcome, both the severity of the symptoms they had and the severity of the outcomes,” she explained. . “They found that the last three groups who had the more severe symptoms were those who were more likely to need respiratory support, and that were those where they had severe fatigue, shortness of breath, some chest pain and that was contrasted with those who had much milder symptoms with just loss of odor, for example, as a sore throat. Interestingly, each of the groups had a complaint of headache as a symptom. “
Dr Joseph Petrosino, president of molecular virology and microbiology at Baylor College of Medicine, said this understanding of the severity of symptoms could help doctors identify which patients may be more of a serious case.
“This study, and studies like it, will help doctors predict where your particular COVID case is going before you actually get there,” Petrosino said. “In terms of the hard end, if perhaps not so serious end, and therefore it will reduce the burden on health care systems and reduce the number of unnecessary hospitalizations.”
There is a wide range of COVID-19 symptoms. According to the CDC, symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure to the virus.
The list of symptoms includes, but is not limited to:
- Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
- New loss of taste or smell
In a study from King’s College London, there was a group of patients who did not experience a fever.
Below are the six levels of symptoms, ranging from mild to severe:
1.) Fever symptoms without fever: Headache, loss of smell, muscle aches, cough, sore throat, chest pain, no fever.
2.) Fever symptoms with fever: Headache, loss of smell, cough, sore throat, hoarseness, fever, loss of appetite.
3.) Gastrointestinal problemssuch as diarrhea: headache, loss of smell, loss of appetite, diarrhea, sore throat, chest pain, no cough.
4.) Fatigue: Headache, loss of smell, cough, fever, hoarseness, chest pain, fatigue.
5.) Betizing:Headache, loss of smoke, loss of appetite, cough, fever, hoarseness, sore throat, chest pain, fatigue, confusion, muscle aches.
6.) Abdominal and respiratory problems:Headache, loss of smell, loss of appetite, cough, fever, hoarseness, sore throat, chest pain, fatigue, confusion, muscle aches, shortness of breath, diarrhea, abdominal pain.
It is important to note that the last three groups were cases of serious level.
The Texas Medical Association also released a decision card, to help people decide if they need a COVID-19 test. The card is available in both English and Spanish.
“Don’t wait until it’s too late,” Patterson said. “If you start shortness of breath, especially hard shortness of breath, this is something you need to consider.”
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