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Course of disease and risk factors for hospitalization in outpatients with a SARS-CoV-2 infection

Authors :
Eik Schäfer
Christian Scheer
Karen Saljé
Anja Fritz
Thomas Kohlmann
Nils-Olaf Hübner
Matthias Napp
Lizon Fiedler-Lacombe
Dana Stahl
Bernhard Rauch
Matthias Nauck
Uwe Völker
Stephan Felix
Guglielmo Lucchese
Agnes Flöel
Stefan Engeli
Wolfgang Hoffmann
Klaus Hahnenkamp
Mladen V. Tzvetkov
Source :
Scientific reports. 12(1)
Publication Year :
2021

Abstract

We analyzed symptoms and comorbidities as predictors of hospitalization in 710 outpatients in North-East Germany with PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection. During the first 3 days of infection, commonly reported symptoms were fatigue (71.8%), arthralgia/myalgia (56.8%), headache (55.1%), and dry cough (51.8%). Loss of smell (anosmia), loss of taste (ageusia), dyspnea, and productive cough were reported with an onset of 4 days. Anosmia or ageusia were reported by only 18% of the participants at day one, but up to 49% between days 7 and 9. Not all participants who reported ageusia also reported anosmia. Individuals suffering from ageusia without anosmia were at highest risk of hospitalization (OR 6.8, 95% CI 2.5–18.1). They also experienced more commonly dyspnea and nausea (OR of 3.0, 2.9, respectively) suggesting pathophysiological connections between these symptoms. Other symptoms significantly associated with increased risk of hospitalization were dyspnea, vomiting, and fever. Among basic parameters and comorbidities, age > 60 years, COPD, prior stroke, diabetes, kidney and cardiac diseases were also associated with increased risk of hospitalization. In conclusion, due to the delayed onset, ageusia and anosmia may be of limited use in differential diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2. However, differentiation between ageusia and anosmia may be useful for evaluating risk for hospitalization.

Details

ISSN :
20452322
Volume :
12
Issue :
1
Database :
OpenAIRE
Journal :
Scientific reports
Accession number :
edsair.doi.dedup.....b191e58cef8385a0c30c8c7970946ce6