J Int Med Res
. 2020 Sep;48(9):300060520956834.
doi: 10.1177/0300060520956834.
Association between incubation period and clinical characteristics of patients with COVID-19
Yeyu Cai 1 , Jiayi Liu 1 , Haitao Yang 1 , Mian Wang 2 , Qingping Guo 3 , Deng Huang 4 , Qizhi Yu 5 , Enhua Xiao 1 6
Affiliations
- PMID: 32967488
- DOI: 10.1177/0300060520956834
Abstract
Purpose: To investigate associations between the clinical characteristics and incubation periods of patients infected with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Wuhan, China.
Methods: Complete clinical and epidemiological data from 149 patients with COVID-19 at a hospital in Hunan Province, China, were collected and retrospectively analyzed.
Results: Analysis of the distribution and receiver operator characteristic curve of incubation periods showed that 7 days was the optimal cut-off value to assess differences in disease severity between groups. Patients with shorter (≤7 days) incubation periods (n = 79) had more severe disease, longer durations of hospitalization, longer times from symptom onset to discharge, more abnormal laboratory findings, and more severe radiological findings than patients with longer (>7 days) incubation periods. Regression and correlation analyses also showed that a shorter incubation period was associated with longer times from symptom onset to discharge.
Conclusion: The associations between the incubation periods and clinical characteristics of COVID-19 patients suggest that the incubation period may be a useful marker of disease severity and prognosis.
Keywords: COVID-19; clinical characteristics; disease severity; incubation period; prognosis; retrospective analysis.