Scientists reveal the most likely order of COVID-19 symptoms

The most common symptoms of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) include fever, cough, and dyspnea. As the pandemic progressed, infectious individuals reported additional symptoms such as headaches, body aches, nausea, diarrhea, and odor and taste loss.

This scanning electron microscope image was developed from the surface of cells (green) cultured with SARS-CoV-2 (orange) (also known as 2019-nCoV, a virus that causes COVID-19) isolated from patients in the United States. Thing. Lab. Colorized image captured at NIAID’s Rocky Mountain Laboratories (RML) in Hamilton, Montana. Credit: NIAID

Well, a team of researchers at University of Southern California (USC) Clarified the order of symptoms often experienced by people infected with SARS-CoV-2. Knowing the order of symptoms can help patients seek immediate medical help. The study is published in a journal Public health frontier..

“This sequence is especially important if there are overlapping cycles of a flu-like illness that coincides with COVID-19 infection. Doctors can determine what steps to take to care for a patient. It can prevent the deterioration of the patient’s condition.” said Peter Coon, Professor of Medicine, Biomedical Engineering, Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering at USC.

The team said that months after the first case of COVID-19 was reported in China, there were better treatment options and early identification of patients could shorten hospitalization time.

Find symptoms quickly

Coronavirus pandemics are damaging the world. It is still unclear when the pandemic will stop, but when treatment and vaccines are not available, new normal adaptations are essential.

Currently, the best way to fight the spread of viruses is to find symptoms quickly and have them tested. From there, contact tracking confirms that everyone is orphaned. An outbreak may be contained if the symptomatic patient is immediately tested and followed up. The drawback is that COVID-19 patients show symptoms similar to common illnesses such as the flu and colds.

“Here we assume that the order of symptom onset helps patients and healthcare professionals to more quickly distinguish COVID-19 from other respiratory disorders, but such important information is scarcely available.” The researchers explained.

The most common respiratory symptom pathway for COVID-19. The most probable path for the seven common symptoms of COVID-19, as determined by the transition probabilities also listed between the nodes of the two datasets here. Image credit: Front. Public Health, August 13, 2020 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2020.00473

the study

To reach the research results, the team applied the Markov process to a stepwise partially ordered set based on clinical observations of COVID-19 cases to find the most likely order of patient symptoms. I confirmed.

The team compared the progression of COVID-19 symptoms with other respiratory illnesses such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), and influenza. The team wanted to see if the symptoms of the disease were different.

Research models predict that while influenza begins with a cough, COVID-19, like other coronavirus-related illnesses, begins with a fever. Furthermore, COVID-19 differs from SARS and MER in order of gastrointestinal symptoms.

Fever and cough are often associated with many respiratory disorders including MERS and SARS, but COVID-19 may be different depending on the timing and symptoms of the upper and lower gastrointestinal (GI) tracts .. For example, the upper gastrointestinal tract appears to be affected in front of the lower portion of COVID-19, the opposite of the other two coronavirus relatives.

“The order of symptoms is important. Knowing that each disease progresses differently means that the doctor can identify COVID-19 or another disease sooner.

The findings highlight the importance of checking body temperature as well as access to destinations and facilities.

“Our results support the idea that heat should be used to screen entry into the facility when the area begins to reopen after the outbreak of spring 2020. Other illnesses” ..

To delay the spread of COVID-19, research results emphasize the importance of testing fever before allowing people to enter the facility. In addition, contact tracking should be done to isolate the patient.