Open Forum Infect Dis
. 2020 Nov 26;8(1):ofaa576.
doi: 10.1093/ofid/ofaa576. eCollection 2021 Jan.
Clinical Symptoms Among Ambulatory Patients Tested for SARS-CoV-2
Jessie R Chung 1 , Sara S Kim 1 , Michael L Jackson 2 , Lisa A Jackson 2 , Edward A Belongia 3 , Jennifer P King 3 , Richard K Zimmerman 4 , Mary Patricia Nowalk 4 , Emily T Martin 5 , Arnold S Monto 5 , Manjusha Gaglani 6 , Michael E Smith 6 , Manish Patel 1 , Brendan Flannery 1
Affiliations
- PMID: 33537361
- PMCID: PMC7717425
- DOI: 10.1093/ofid/ofaa576
Abstract
We compared symptoms and characteristics of 4961 ambulatory patients with and without laboratory-confirmed severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection. Findings indicate that clinical symptoms alone would be insufficient to distinguish between coronavirus disease 2019 and other respiratory infections (eg, influenza) and/or to evaluate the effects of preventive interventions (eg, vaccinations).
Keywords: COVID-19; case definitions; influenza; observational research studies; vaccine effectiveness.