Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34235816›Full record

ArticleInternational journal of clinical practice2021

Smart Check - COVID-19 triage system: Evaluation of the impact on the screening time and identification of clinical manifestations of SARS-CoV-2 infection in a public health service.

Fernando Anschau, Paulo Valdeci Worm, Luciane Kopittke, Luis Humberto de Mello Villwock, Marcos Luiggi Lemos Sartori, Jéferson Cardoso do Rosário, José Francisco Secorun Inácio, Maicon Diogo Much, Eduardo Marckmann, Sandro Pinheiro and 6 more

Open access · bronzeAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in International journal of clinical practice, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
0.4field-weighted citation impact, top 36% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 5 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  3. Article
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  5. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

16 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Fernando AnschauGrupo Hospitalar Conceição, Porto Alegre, Brazil.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2657-5406
Paulo Valdeci WormGrupo Hospitalar Conceição, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
Luciane KopittkeGrupo Hospitalar Conceição, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
Luis Humberto de Mello VillwockPontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
Marcos Luiggi Lemos SartoriTecnopuc-Toth Lifecare, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
Jéferson Cardoso do RosárioTecnopuc-Toth Lifecare, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
José Francisco Secorun InácioTecnopuc-Toth Lifecare, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
Maicon Diogo MuchTecnopuc-Toth Lifecare, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
Eduardo MarckmannTecnopuc-Toth Lifecare, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
Sandro PinheiroTecnopuc-Toth Lifecare, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
João Ricardo Nickenig VissociDuke Univestiy, Duke Global Health Institute, Durham, NC, USA.
Wagner de Lara MachadoPontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
Dalton Breno CostaPontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
Daniel KlugGrupo Hospitalar Conceição, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
Juliane Martin PrestesGrupo Hospitalar Conceição, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
Fabiano HesselPontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul · BRGrupo Hospitalar Conceição · BRUniversidade Estadual de Maringá · BR

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionMost patients with COVID-19 have mild or moderate manifestations; however, there is a wide spectrum of clinical presentations and even more severe repercussions that require high diagnostic suspicion. Vital sign acquisition and monitoring are crucial for detecting and responding to patients with COVID-19.

objectiveThus, we conducted this study to demonstrate the impact of using a tool called Smart Check on the triage time of patients with suspected COVID-19 and to identify the main initial clinical manifestations in these patients. METHODOLOGY: We assessed triage times before and after the use of Smart Check in 11 466 patients at Hospital Nossa Senhora da Conceição in Porto Alegre, Brazil, from 1 June to 31 July 2020. In this group, we identified 220 patients for the identification of COVID-19 clinical manifestations in a case-control analysis.

resultsSmart Check was able to decrease the triage time by 33 seconds on average (P < .001), with 75% of the exams being performed within 5 minutes, whereas with the usual protocol these steps were performed within 6 minutes. A range of clinical presentations made up the COVID-19 initial manifestations. Those with the highest frequency were dry cough (46.4%), fever (41.3%), dyspnoea (35.8%), and headache (31.8%). Loss of appetite was the manifestation that had a statistically significant association with the SARS-CoV-2 presence (univariate analysis). When analysed together, loss of appetite associated with dyspnoea and/or ageusia and/or fever was related to the diagnosis of COVID-19.

conclusionsSmart Check, a simple clinical evaluation tool, along with the targeted use of rapid PCR testing, can optimise triage time for patients with and without COVID-19. In triage centres, a number of initial signs and symptoms should be cause for SARS-CoV-2 infection suspicion, in particular the association of respiratory, neurological, and gastrointestinal manifestations.

Indexed as

COVID-19SARS-CoV-2DyspneaFeverHumansTriage

Identifiers

PMID34235816
PMCPMC8420522
OpenAlexW3136114163

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.