Observational studyBMC infectious diseases2021
Diagnostic accuracy of symptoms as a diagnostic tool for SARS-CoV 2 infection: a cross-sectional study in a cohort of 2,173 patients.
Observational study in BMC infectious diseases, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 22 citations in OpenAlex.
- Signs and symptoms to determine if a patient presenting in primary care or hospital outpatient settings has COVID-19.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2022Pooled it
- Process Improvement Approaches for Increasing the Response of Emergency Departments against the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Pooled it
- A 3-Tier AI Model for COVID-19 Triage Using Pharyngeal Images: Algorithm Development and Validation.JMIR formative research · 2026Article
- Salivary Metabolomics in Patients with Long COVID-19 Infection.Metabolites · 2024Article
- Potential biomarkers for fatal outcome prognosis in a cohort of hospitalized COVID-19 patients with pre-existing comorbidities.Clinical and translational science · 2023Article
- Cost-Benefit of Real-Time Multiplex PCR Testing of SARS-CoV-2 in German Hospitals.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- [Risk factors at admission associated with intubation in patients with COVID-19].Revista medica del Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social · 2023Observational
- Infection Prevention and Control of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 in Health Care Settings.Infectious disease clinics of North America · 2022Review
- A new screening tool for SARS-CoV-2 infection based on self-reported patient clinical characteristics: the COVBMC infectious diseases · 2022Article
- Observational
- Clinical Factors Associated with COVID-19 Severity in Mexican Patients: Cross-Sectional Analysis from a Multicentric Hospital Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
- Differentiating COVID-19 and dengue from other febrile illnesses in co-epidemics: Development and internal validation of COVIDENGUE scores.Travel medicine and infectious diseaseArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
12 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe SARS-CoV-2 pandemic continues to be a priority health problem; According to the World Health Organization data from October 13, 2020, 37,704,153 confirmed COVID-19 cases have been reported, including 1,079,029 deaths, since the outbreak. The identification of potential symptoms has been reported to be a useful tool for clinical decision-making in emergency departments to avoid overload and improve the quality of care. The aim of this study was to evaluate the performances of symptoms as a diagnostic tool for SARS -CoV-2 infection.
methodsAn observational, cross-sectional, prospective and analytical study was carried out, during the period of time from April 14 to July 21, 2020. Data (demographic variables, medical history, respiratory and non-respiratory symptoms) were collected by emergency physicians. The diagnosis of COVID-19 was made using SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR. The diagnostic accuracy of these characteristics for COVID-19 was evaluated by calculating the positive and negative likelihood ratios. A Mantel-Haenszel and multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to assess the association of symptoms with COVID-19.
resultsA prevalence of 53.72% of SARS-CoV-2 infection was observed. The symptom with the highest sensitivity was cough 71%, and a specificity of 52.68%. The symptomatological scale, constructed from 6 symptoms, obtained a sensitivity of 83.45% and a specificity of 32.86%, taking ≥2 symptoms as a cut-off point. The symptoms with the greatest association with SARS-CoV-2 were: anosmia odds ratio (OR) 3.2 (95% CI; 2.52-4.17), fever OR 2.98 (95% CI; 2.47-3.58), dyspnea OR 2.9 (95% CI; 2.39-3.51]) and cough OR 2.73 (95% CI: 2.27-3.28).
conclusionThe combination of ≥2 symptoms / signs (fever, cough, anosmia, dyspnea and oxygen saturation < 93%, and headache) results in a highly sensitivity model for a quick and accurate diagnosis of COVID-19, and should be used in the absence of ancillary diagnostic studies. Symptomatology, alone and in combination, may be an appropriate strategy to use in the emergency department to guide the behaviors to respond to the disease.
trial registrationInstitutional registration R-2020-3601-145, Federal Commission for the Protection against Sanitary Risks 17 CI-09-015-034, National Bioethics Commission: 09 CEI-023-2017082 .
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