- A study from the University of Southern California was able to establish that COVID-19 symptoms often begin in a certain order.
- According to the study, while the flu usually starts with a cough, the first symptom of COVID-19 is fever.
- However, doctors working with patients with COVID-19 said that, in their experience, the symptoms are not as predictable.
The symptoms of COVID-19, including fever and cough, are similar to the symptoms of a number of other common diseases, including seasonal flu.
With the flu season in full swing, how can you tell if a fever is a symptom of the flu or COVID-19? A new study has shown the symptoms of COVID-19, which may help people trying to figure out if their cough is just a cough or something worse.
Research from the University of Southern California (USC) has been able to determine that COVID-19 symptoms often begin in a certain order.
This finding could help people with COVID-19 to isolate themselves and receive treatment earlier, which could significantly improve patient outcomes.
“This order is especially important to know when we have overlapping cycles of flu-like illnesses that coincide with COVID-19 infections,” said Peter Kuhn, PhD, one of the study’s authors and a professor of medicine, biomedical and aerospace engineering, and mechanical engineering at USC. “Doctors can determine what steps need to be taken to care for the patient and can prevent the patient’s condition from getting worse.”
To predict the order of symptoms, the researchers analyzed the incidence rates of symptoms collected by the World Health Organization (WHO) for more than 55,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in China.
They also analyzed a data set of nearly 1,100 cases collected between December 2019 and January 2020 by the Chinese Medical Treatment Expert Group for COVID-19 and provided by the Chinese National Health Commission.
To compare the order of COVID-19 symptoms with influenza, the researchers analyzed data from more than 2,000 cases of influenza in North America, Europe and the southern hemisphere reported to health authorities between 1994 and 1998.
“The order of symptoms matters,” said Joseph Larsen, lead author of the study and a USC Dornsife doctoral candidate. “Knowing that each disease progresses differently means that doctors can identify earlier if someone is likely to have COVID-19 or another disease, which can help them make better treatment decisions.”
According to the study’s findings, this is the order of symptoms that people with COVID-19 may experience:
- fever
- cough and muscle aches
- nausea or vomiting
- diarrhea
“The study found that patients with seasonal flu developed a cough more frequently before the onset of the fever,” Dr. Robert Glatter, an emergency physician at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York, told Healthline. “In reality, this can be difficult to discern, because the flu often starts suddenly with a triad of symptoms, including back pain, chills, along with a dry cough.”
Glatter said the findings are potentially useful “when evaluating more patients in a busy clinical setting.”
According to the study, while the flu usually starts with a cough, the first symptom of COVID-19 is fever.
“Our results support the idea that fever should be used to detect entry into facilities, as regions begin to reopen after the outbreak of spring 2020,” the study’s authors wrote.
Glatter shared his experience in treating COVID-19 patients in New York.
In general, while fever is usually the most commonly described initial symptom of COVID-19 infection, the reality of what I see on the front line is more variable, he said.
In fact, some patients may just have a loss of taste or smell and otherwise feel good, Glatter said. “I also saw patients present with“ COVID toes ”or children; a tip livedo [reddish-blue discoloration] of the skin reaction in response to acute inflammation, in the absence of fever, cough or other respiratory symptoms. ”
Glatter said other patients also presented with “malaise, headaches and dizziness,” which is somewhat similar to stroke symptoms, but without fever, cough or any evidence of upper respiratory symptoms.
“We have also seen patients present with only chest pain, without any respiratory symptoms,” he said. “The appearance of nausea, vomiting and diarrhea after the onset of respiratory symptoms, such as fever and cough, may also suggest that a person may have COVID-19.”
According to Glatter, the conclusion is that health professionals need to be vigilant and open-minded when evaluating patients who may have symptoms associated with the disease. “It doesn’t always present ‘according to the book,’ so you have to cast a wide net when you think about who may or may not have COVID-19,” he said.
“It is extremely important to understand the progression of symptoms of people infected with COVID-19, so that you can stop the spread of the disease – effectively, isolate and then initiate effective contact follow-up,” said Glatter. This is quite relevant for a virus that is two to three times more transmissible than the flu, leading to outbreaks in groups.
He also said that understanding the first symptoms not only helps patients to seek testing faster, but also to begin to distance themselves physically or socially after the onset of the first symptoms.
He also stressed the importance of wearing masks and hand hygiene when experiencing symptoms, Glatter said.
He also notes that sudden loss of odor and taste and inflammatory skin reactions, such as muscle, may be important clinical indications that may distinguish COVID-19 from seasonal flu.
In accordance with
These are three highly monitored options:
- Variant B.1.1.7. It was first identified in the UK in the fall. It has been found to spread faster (and easier) than other variants. It may be associated with an increased risk of death compared to other variants, but more research is needed to confirm this. He was detected in the United States in December.
- Variant B.1.351. It was first identified in October in South Africa, and was later detected in the United States in December.
- Variant P.1. He was first identified on trips from Brazil that were tested at a Japanese airport in early January.
Recent research says that variant B.1.1.7 does not affect the respiratory tract and does not lead to more severe lung disease than SARS-CoV-2. The authors of the study stressed that “complete and clearer data on this subject will be ready in the near future.”
Another study finds that although new variants of coronavirus may be more infectious, there is still no evidence that they cause more severe disease.
“Scientists have now studied this and found that these variants tend to spread faster, are more transmissible or more infectious,” Vismita Gupta-Smith, WHO’s public information and advocacy officer, said in a statement. . However, so far, they do not appear to cause more severe disease or a higher mortality rate or any different clinical manifestations.
She added that the variants behave the same as SARS-CoV-2 and cause similar diseases.
The researchers analyzed data from more than 50,000 patients with COVID-19 and compared their symptoms with previous records from people who had the flu to find that COVID-19 symptoms appear in a certain order.
This information can help differentiate people with COVID-19 from those with the flu, helping those with COVID-19 to seek care and isolate themselves earlier.
Experts with first-line experience point out that this development is not always the way the disease manifests itself, but it is nevertheless a useful guide for healthcare providers.
Experts also monitor how the new variants affect the body and whether there are changes in symptoms.