Scientists identify the order in which symptoms of Covid-19 appear

Marelize wilke
|Health24

17 Aug 2020, 08:45

• Symptoms of Covid-19 differ from patient to patient
• Scientists have found, however, that the order of symptoms of Covid-19 differs from other diseases
• Understanding this sequence can help speed up diagnosis and treatment

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Since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, the list of potential signs and symptoms has grown considerably.

Since there are so many variables, it can be difficult to tell if a general symptom such as fever or cough indicates a person has Covid-19, or something else.

But according to scientists at the USC Michelson Center, the order of symptom onset could help doctors diagnose Covid-19 faster.

The order of symptoms can help doctors plan treatment

Not only will the order of symptoms help doctors diagnose Covid-19 at an earlier stage, it will also give them a better understanding of which treatments to prioritize.

It may also help physicians rule out other diseases, according to the study conducted by doctoral student Joseph Larsen and colleagues, with academic advisors Peter Kuhn and James Hicks, at the USC Michelson Center for Convergent Bioscience Convergent Science Institute in Cancer.

“This order is especially important to know when we have cycles of illnesses like the flu that coincide with Covid-19 infections,” said Kuhn, professor of medicine, biomedical engineering, and aerospace and mechanical engineering at USC. , in a press release. “Doctors can determine what steps to take to care for the patient and they can prevent the patient’s condition from getting worse.”

“Since there are now better approaches to treatments for Covid-19, identifying patients earlier could reduce hospitalization time,” said Larsen, the study’s lead author.

“The order of symptoms is important. Knowing that each disease progresses differently means that doctors can identify sooner if a person probably has Covid-19 or another disease, which can help them make better decisions. of treatment, ”Larsen said in the press release.

The scientific results were published in the journal Public health frontiers August 12, 2020.

Upper gastrointestinal tract likely to be infected first

While fever and a dry cough are the main symptoms of Covid-19 – as with the two illnesses SARS and MERS, which were also caused by coronaviruses – the timing of symptoms related to the gastrointestinal system appears to differ in Covid- 19.

According to the researchers, the upper digestive tract seems to be affected (nausea and vomiting) before the lower digestive tract (diarrhea) in Covid-19, unlike MERS and SARS where it was the other way around.

They determined the order of symptoms this spring from symptom incidence rates in more than 55,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus in China (all of which were collected between February 16 and February 24, 2020, by the World Organization health). They also studied a data set of nearly 1,100 cases (collected between December 11, 2019 and January 24, 2020, by the China Medical Treatment Expert Group via the National Health Commission of China.)

The researchers then compared the order of symptoms of Covid-19 to those of the flu by examining data from 2,470 cases in North America, Europe and the southern hemisphere (reported to health authorities from 1994 to 1998) .

To compare the order of symptoms of Covid-19 to that of influenza, researchers looked at data from 2,470 cases in North America, Europe and the southern hemisphere (reported to health authorities from 1994 to 1998) .

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