Symptoms can predict COVID-19 pneumonia in patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variants

Abstract Pneumonia is a key criterion for the severity of COVID-19. Whether COVID-19 symptoms are indicators of pneumonia in patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variants is unclear. 6200 non-hospitalized patients with COVID-19 from three sites in three hospitals were divided into three cohorts: Cohort 1 (n = 1971, Outpatient Department), Cohort 2 (n = 1073, Emergency Department), and Cohort 3 (n = 3156, Fever Clinic). The association of COVID-19 symptoms with pneumonia in the patients were analysed. In Cohort 1, dry cough, expectoration, fever, muscle or body aches, sore throat, headache or dizziness, shortness of breath, and difficulty breathing were associated with pneumonia. For Cohort 2, expectoration, fatigue, congestion or runny nose, sore throat, headache or dizziness, chills, chest stuffiness, shortness of breath, and difficulty breathing were related to pneumonia. With Cohort 3, dry cough, expectoration, vomiting, chest stuffiness, shortness of breath, and difficulty breathing had associations with pneumonia. Moreover, duration of symptoms > 7 days was associated with pneumonia in all three cohorts. In the study, expectoration, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, and duration of symptoms > 7 days were useful predictors of COVID-19 pneumonia in the patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variants. Among these predictors, shortness of breath and difficulty breathing were high-risk early-warning factors for pneumonia, and duration of symptoms > 7 days was also a high-risk factor for pneumonia.