Abstract
COVID-19 mainly presents as a respiratory disease with flu‐like symptoms, however, recent findings suggest that non-respiratory symptoms can occur early in the infection and cluster together in different groups in different regions. We collected surveillance data among COVID-19 suspected cases tested in mainland Portugal during the first wave of the pandemic, March-April 2020. A multivariable logistic-regression analysis was performed to ascertain the effects of age, sex, prior medical condition and symptoms on the likelihood of testing positive and hospitalisation. Of 25,926 COVID-19 suspected cases included in this study, 5,298 (20%) tested positive. Symptoms were grouped into ten clusters, of which two main ones: one with cough and fever and another with the remainder. There was a higher odds of a positive test with increasing age, myalgia and headache. The odds of being hospitalised increased with age, presence of fever, dyspnoea, or having a prior medical condition although these results varied by region. Presence of cough and other respiratory symptoms did not predict COVID-19 compared to non-COVID respiratory disease patients in any region. Dyspnoea was a strong determinant of hospitalisation, as well as fever and the presence of a prior medical condition, whereas these results varied by region.
Highlights
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) a public health emergency of international concern on January 30, 2020 [1]
In our large prospective study of 25 926 suspected cases of COVID-19, we presented the clinical symptoms associated with SARS-CoV-2 test positivity and hospitalisation during the first month of the pandemic in mainland Portugal
Our results suggest that general systemic symptoms, such as fever, fatigue, myalgia, headache and diarrhoea were associated with a positive test
Summary
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) a public health emergency of international concern on January 30, 2020 [1]. The first cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) were reported on March 2, 2020 in Portugal [2]. SARS-CoV-2 infection mainly presents as a respiratory disease with flu-. Predictors of COVID-19, Portugal bIIh3wxUaAJGPMli5fUewGAy09D0VOgnuCLKIt 3ltUM0xFVDJOTUZLREIxTFdQMFpSUkJGMD JDVi4u
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