- A new study provides a key detail surrounding coronavirus symptoms, the likely sequence in which COVID-19 signs appear in infected patients.
- The timeline of COVID-19 symptoms could help patients better educate themselves and seek medical care sooner than they might otherwise have, so that they can spread the disease.
- Knowledge of the sequence in which coronavirus symptoms are typically present could also be very helpful for healthcare professionals, who can better distinguish COVID-19 patients from others.
One of the things that makes it so difficult to contain the new coronavirus pandemic is the symptomatology of COVID-19. The incubation period can last from a few days to two weeks, so you may not show the first signs of infection until long after you have caught the disease. That is if you are experiencing severe symptoms. Many people get the virus but do not develop signs that can warn them that something is wrong and that testing, isolation and treatment may be necessary. If you experience symptoms, they will not be enough to definitively diagnose your disease as COVID-19 without a PCR test. The novel coronavirus induces one particular symptom that is seen as clear evidence of infection with the novel coronavirus, and that is the sudden loss of smell and taste. The problem is that not all people who get infected experience this telltale sign.
Although symptoms may not be sufficient to correctly diagnose COVID-19, knowing what the most likely signs of coronavirus are, and the order in which they appear, can be a useful tool for patients and physicians. For the first time since the beginning of the pandemic, a team of researchers analyzed thousands of COVID-19 cases and made the most probable sequence of COVID-19 symptoms.
“This disease is more contagious than influenza, so cluster outbreaks are common,” the researchers wrote in a study published in Frontiers in public health. “If patients with symptoms quickly tested and underwent traces of contact, these outbreaks could be contained. Unfortunately, COVID-19 patients have symptoms similar to other common diseases. ”
The researchers went on to say, “We hypothesized that the sequencing of symptoms could help patients and medical professionals more quickly distinguish COVID-19 from other respiratory diseases, yet such essential information is largely unavailable.”
The USC Michelson Center for Convergent Bioscience team analyzed datasets from more than 55,000 COVID-19 cases in China that the World Health Organization (WHO) collected in mid-February, as well as data for nearly 1,100 cases from December 11 to January 29. by the Expert Group on Medical Treatment of China through the National Health Commission of China. They compared the evolution of symptoms in COVID-19 with influenza, SARS, and MERS, although it is the influenza that is most important for this type of study.
Through their analysis, the researchers found that COVID-19 patients who develop symptoms are more likely to experience fever first, followed by cough en muscle pain. Dan nausea and vomiting perhaps set, and would only later diarrhea shine.
The researchers also added neck pain, myalgia, and headaches to the original set of symptoms. They found that “this extra [more subjective] symptoms did not cause our first order of fever, cough, nausea / vomiting, and diarrhea, but instead added another level of complexity in the middle of the probable pathways. ‘The study indicated that one, two, three or none of the subjective symptoms may appear before nausea / vomiting and diarrhea. If diarrhea were the first symptom, the researchers believe the patient may experience a more severe case.
“This sequence is especially important to know if we have overlapping cycles of diseases such as the flu that coincide with COVID-19 infections,” said co-author Peter Kuhn ABC News. “Physicians can determine what steps to take to care for the patient, and they can prevent the patient’s condition from deteriorating.”
For comparison, here is the most likely sequence of symptoms for the flu, SARS, and MERS, from the same study:
There is no guarantee that all COVID-19 cases will start with fever, and many people do not even experience this symptom. Similarly, there is no guarantee that all infected individuals will continue these symptoms in this particular order, and more research on the matter is needed to confirm the findings. But these early conclusions could be useful, especially in hospitals dealing with large COVID-19 caseloads and are safeguarding for the flu season to resurface. Understanding the sequence of symptoms can make a significant difference in how healthcare professionals approach patients with COVID-19 this flu season.
“Given that there are now better approaches to COVID-19 treatments, patients can identify hospitalization sooner rather than later,” said Joseph Larsen. Also, the researchers think that the fact that fever is the most common first symptom, a confirmation that temperature checks should be performed in schools and other institutions inside.
Chris Smith began writing about gadgets as a hobby, and before he knew it, he was sharing his views on tech things with readers all over the world. Every time he does not write about gadgets, he manages to get away with it, even though he tries desperately. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
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