According to a new article published in the journal PLOS Medicine , there is a group of seven symptoms that, taken together, can be used to maximize the detection of COVID-19. Performing such detection as quickly as possible is key to ensuring effective transmission control, especially when the ability to perform diagnostic tests is limited.
In the new study, researchers obtained throat and nose smears with valid SARS-CoV-2 PCR test results from more than one million volunteers in England aged over 5 years. The data was collected during eight test rounds conducted between June 2020 and January 2021 as part of the REal-time Assessment of Community Transmission-1 (REACT-1) study. In addition, the participants were asked about the symptoms they experienced in the week before the test.
The model was developed in rounds 2 to 7 with these seven symptoms selected as predictors of a positive PCR result: loss or change in smell, loss or change in taste, fever, persistent cough, chills, loss of appetite, and pain. muscular. Of the seven, only the first four are considered in the UK to assess PCR performance. In the eighth round of the trial, the resulting model suggested that the use of the 7 identified symptoms for the assignment of the CRP test would result in 30% to 40% of symptomatic individuals in England being eligible for a test (versus current 10%) and, if all eligible were screened, it would result in the detection of 70% to 75% of positive cases.
“To improve the detection rates of positivity by PCR and, consequently, improve the control of viral transmission through isolation measures, we would propose to expand the list of symptoms used for classification to the 7 symptoms that we identified”, say the authors.
” These findings suggest that many people with COVID-19 will not be tested and therefore will not isolate themselves, because their symptoms do not match those used in current public health guidelines to help identify to infected people , “adds Paul Elliott, researcher at Imperial College London, UK. people from unnecessary self-isolation. I hope that our findings on the more informative symptoms mean that the testing program can take advantage of the available evidence, helping to optimize the detection of infected people. “
