This new coronavirus breakthrough is key to helping determine if you are infected – BGR

• A new study provides a key detail about the symptoms of the coronavirus, the likely order in which signs of COVID-19 appear in infected patients.
• The timeline of COVID-19 symptoms could help patients better educate themselves and seek medical attention earlier than they might otherwise be able to avoid spreading the disease.
• Knowing the order in which coronavirus symptoms typically present could also be very helpful for healthcare workers, who would be able to better distinguish COVID-19 patients from others.

One of the things that makes it so difficult to contain the novel coronavirus pandemic is the symptomatology of COVID-19. The incubation period can last from a few days to two weeks, so you may not start showing the first signs of infection until long after catching the disease. This is if you are experiencing symptoms. Many people get the virus but don’t develop signs that tell them something is wrong and that testing, isolation and treatment may be needed. If you experience symptoms, they will not be enough to definitively diagnose your condition as COVID-19 without a PCR test. The novel coronavirus induces a particular symptom which is considered clear evidence of infection with the novel coronavirus, namely the sudden loss of smell and taste. The problem is, not all infected people experience this telltale sign.

While symptoms may not be enough to properly diagnose COVID-19, knowing the most likely signs of coronavirus and the order in which they appear could be a useful tool for patients and doctors. For the first time since the start of the pandemic, a team of researchers has analyzed thousands of COVID-19 cases and determined the most likely sequence of COVID-19 symptoms.

“This disease is more contagious than the flu, so cluster outbreaks occur frequently,” the researchers wrote in a study published in Public health frontiers. “If patients with symptoms underwent testing and contact tracing promptly, these outbreaks could be contained. Unfortunately, patients with COVID-19 exhibit symptoms similar to other common illnesses. “

The researchers continued, “We hypothesize that the order of symptom onset could help patients and healthcare professionals more quickly distinguish COVID-19 from other respiratory illnesses, but this vital information is in great abundance. part unavailable. “

The team at the USC Michelson Center for Convergent Bioscience analyzed datasets of more than 55,000 COVID-19 cases in China that the World Health Organization (WHO) collected in mid-February, along with data for nearly 1,100 cases from December 11 to January 29 collected. by the Chinese Expert Group on Medical Treatment via the National Health Commission of China. They compared the evolution of COVID-19 symptoms with the flu, SARS and MERS, although it is the flu that matters most for this type of study.

Through their analysis, the researchers found that COVID-19 patients who develop symptoms are more likely to experience fever first, followed by cough and muscle pain. then nausea and vomiting could settle down, and that’s only later diarrhea appear.

The researchers also added sore throat, myalgia, and headache to the initial set of symptoms. They found that “these [more subjective] The symptoms did not disrupt our initial order of fever, cough, nausea / vomiting, and diarrhea, but rather added another level of complexity amid the likely paths. The study indicated that one, two, three, or none of the subjective symptoms could appear before the nausea / vomiting and diarrhea. If diarrhea is the first symptom, researchers believe the patient might have a more serious case.

“This order is especially important to know when we have cycles of illnesses like influenza that overlap and coincide with COVID-19 infections,” said study co-author Peter Kuhn. ABC News. “Doctors can determine what steps to take to care for the patient, and they can prevent the patient’s condition from getting worse.”

For comparison, here is the most likely order of symptoms for influenza, SARS, and MERS, from the same research:

There is no guarantee that all cases of COVID-19 will start with a fever, and many people don’t even experience this symptom at all. Likewise, there is no guarantee that all infected people will experience these symptoms in that particular order, and more research on the matter is needed to confirm the results. But these early findings could be useful, especially in hospitals that are dealing with high numbers of COVID-19 cases and are preparing for flu season. Understanding the sequence of symptoms could make a critical difference in how healthcare workers approach patients with COVID-19 this flu season.

“Since there are now better approaches to treatments for COVID-19, identifying patients earlier could reduce hospitalization time,” said Joseph Larsen. In addition, the researchers believe that the fact that fever is the most common first symptom is a confirmation that temperature checks should be carried out in schools and other indoor environments.

Chris Smith started writing about gadgets as a hobby, and before he even knew it, he was sharing his take on tech with readers around the world. Whenever he doesn’t write about gadgets, he miserably fails to walk away from them, although he desperately tries. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing.