Date Published: 28/09/2020
ARCHIVED - Madrid survey examines most common symptoms in patients with mild cases of Covid-19
ARCHIVED ARTICLE A study carried out in Madrid examined the mild symptoms of 1177 patients
A study carried out by professionals from the Hospital Clínico San Carlos de Madrid on 1,177 patients recording positive PCR for Covid-19, but not requiring hospital admission, has revealed that the main symptoms of the virus are fatigue, fever, cough , muscular aching and headaches in both sexes and in all age groups studied.
This study is the largest to date on patients with mild or moderate symptoms without hospital admission and has recently been published as a letter to the editor in the international Journal of Infection.
The survey was conducted 1,177 health professionals diagnosed with COVID-19 and showing mild or moderate symptoms, of which 62.2 percent are doctors, 29 percent are nurses, and the rest are professionals. from other categories, with a mean age of 41.7 years.
"The study reveals that, in all age groups and in both men and women, the five most common symptoms are fatigue (74.6%), fever (71.5%), cough (70.3%) , muscle aches (69.8%) and headaches (69.2%) ", details the ophthalmologist of the San Carlos Clinical Hospital and author of the study, Pedro Arriola Villalobos, who also adds" that a high incidence of alterations in smell and taste, which appear to be predictors, according to other published studies, of mild and well-evolving COVID-19 cases ".
Fatigue in women; fever in men
Each patient experienced an average of between seven and eight symptoms. The most frequent symptoms were similar to those described in hospitalized patients, while others such as muscle aches, headaches, nasal congestion, sore throat, diarrhea or dizziness appeared more frequently in patients who did not require hospital admission.
These most common symptoms varied according to sex. Thus, in women, the main symptom was fatigue (76.4%) above headache (72.5%) and fever (71.5%); while among men the most frequent symptoms were fever (78.5%), muscle aches (71.9%), and fatigue and cough, both with 69.7%.
On the other hand, a different incidence of some symptoms was found depending on sex. Some symptoms were more frequent among women such as nasal congestion (52.3% by 37.7% in men), sore throat (50.3% by 37.1%); diarrhea (46.1% by 35.8%); loss of taste (37.8% by 25.2%) or nausea (24.7% by 9.4) and others such as stabbing pain in the chest, breathing difficulties, abdominal pain and dizziness are also more frequent in women than men.
The same symptoms predominate in all age groups: fatigue, fever, cough, muscle aches and headaches; Although in those over 60 years of age, fever stands out as the majority symptom since it was reported by 82.9 percent of patients, while among those under 30 years it fell to 62.9 percent. On the contrary, headache occurs mainly among patients under 40 years of age (73.3%) compared to those over 60 years of age (58.3%).
Something similar occurs with other symptoms such as loss of smell, more frequent among young patients (62.8% under 40 years) than among those over 60 years: 41.7 percent; nasal congestion: 56.8 percent among young patients by 36.1 percent among those over 60 years; loss of taste, present in 43.5 percent of patients under 30 and only 23.6 percent of those over 60; and dizziness, which occurred in 33.5 percent of young people by 47.2 percent of those over 60 years of age.