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Anosmia but Not Ageusia as a COVID-19-Related Symptom among Cancer Patients—First Results from the PAPESCO-19 Cohort Study.
- Source :
- Cancers; Jul2021, Vol. 13 Issue 14, p3389, 1p
- Publication Year :
- 2021
-
Abstract
- Simple Summary: COVID-19 has some clinical manifestations that are similar to the side effects of cancer treatments such that cancer patients may fail to distinguish COVID-19 symptoms from those of their treatments. The PAPESCO-19 study investigated 13 COVID-19 symptoms and confirmed that in combination with anorexia, fever, headache, and rhinorrhea, anosmia has a strong association with COVID-19 for cancer patients while dysgeusia/ageusia does not. Background: Cancer patients may fail to distinguish COVID-19 symptoms such as anosmia, dysgeusia/ageusia, anorexia, headache, and fatigue, which are frequent after cancer treatments. We aimed to identify symptoms associated with COVID-19 and to assess the strength of their association in cancer and cancer-free populations. Methods: The multicenter cohort study PAPESCO-19 included 878 cancer patients and 940 healthcare workers (HCWs). At baseline and quarterly thereafter, they reported the presence or absence of 13 COVID-19 symptoms observed over 3 months and the results of routine screening RT-PCR, and they were systematically tested for SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies. We identified the symptom combinations significantly associated with COVID-19. Results: Eight percent of cancer patients were COVID-19 positive, and 32% were symptomatic. Among the HCWs, these proportions were 9.5 and 52%, respectively. Anosmia, anorexia, fever, headache, and rhinorrhea together accurately discriminated (c-statistic = 0.7027) COVID-19 cases from cancer patients. Anosmia, dysgeusia/ageusia, muscle pain, intense fatigue, headache, and chest pain better discriminated (c-statistic = 0.8830) COVID-19 cases among the HCWs. Anosmia had the strongest association in both the cancer patients (OR = 7.48, 95% CI: 2.96–18.89) and HCWs (OR = 5.71, 95% CI: 2.21–14.75). Conclusions: COVID-19 symptoms and their diagnostic performance differ in the cancer patients and HCWs. Anosmia is associated with COVID-19 in cancer patients, while dysgeusia/ageusia is not. Cancer patients deserve tailored preventive measures due to their particular COVID-19 symptom pattern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Subjects :
- RESEARCH
REVERSE transcriptase polymerase chain reaction
AGEUSIA
COVID-19
SARS-CoV-2
FEVER
MYALGIA
CONFIDENCE intervals
SERODIAGNOSIS
MEDICAL cooperation
CANCER patients
RHINORRHEA
SMELL disorders
CHEST pain
DESCRIPTIVE statistics
POLYMERASE chain reaction
HEADACHE
FATIGUE (Physiology)
ODDS ratio
LONGITUDINAL method
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 20726694
- Volume :
- 13
- Issue :
- 14
- Database :
- Complementary Index
- Journal :
- Cancers
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 151564733
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers13143389