Spectrum of symptoms and sings in 231 patients with common cold

Abstract

Objective To investigate the frequency of systemic and nasal symptoms of the common cold.Methods The patients with common cold were enrolled,their symptoms and signs of the common cold during 48-hour period were recorded,including systemic symptoms(fever,headache,muscular soreness)and nasal symptoms(stuffy nose,runny nose,sneezing),which were classified into 4 grades according to the severity.The frequency and severity of symptoms and signs were analyzed.Results We included 231 patients with common cold from outpatient department(104 males and 127 females),with average age 36.4 yrs.The rate of muscular soreness was 97.0%which is highest among symptoms of common cold,the prevalence of headache(94.8%)was equal to discomfort of throat,higher than fever(53.7%).The incidence of stuffy nose was hightest in nasal symptoms(93.5%),which was similar to runny nose(93.1%)and more than sneezing(82.3%).The percentage of cough is 61.9%.The result of self-assessment symptom score showed that the score ranged from 1 to 2 accounts 78.4%,while only8.7% of the patient marked the highest grade.Conclusions The main manifestations of common cold are muscular soreness,headache,and discomfort of throat.While stuffy nose,runny nose and sneezing are common in nasal symptoms. Key words: Common cold; Symptoms; Signs