Clinical and paraclinical manifestations in patients suspected of being infected with COVID-19

Abstract

Background: It was intended to study the structure of the symptoms in patients suspected of having SARS-CoV-2 virus infection, as well as to find any correlations between the clinical, paraclinical and radiological manifestations in positive versus negative patients, in order to further facilitate the diagnosis and triage of patients. Material and methods: 101 patients seeking medical attendance at the COVID-19 Triage Center in Chisinau have been examined, presenting various respiratory symptoms. The frequency of symptoms and the results of the paraclinical investigations were evaluated based on the results of the PCR tests for SARS-CoV-2 infection and the assessment of correlations (Pearson). Results: Out of 101 subjects, 50 tested SARS-CoV-2 positive, and the remaining 51 – negative. The clinical manifestations of SARS-CoV-2 suspects were as follows: fatigue – 72%, sweating – 54%, chills – 52%, fever – 49%, subfebrility – 39%, myalgias and arthralgias – 37%, cough – 35% (sputum – 17% and hemoptysis – 2%), dyspnea – 34%, chest pain – 23%, anosmia – 12%, headache – 11%, dyspeptic syndrome – 8%. Infiltrates on chest radiography were found in 22% of cases. A weak inverse correlation (R = -0.22, P <0.05) between the leukocyte count and SARS-CoV-2 test results was found. An average direct correlation between the presence of fever (R = 0.36, P <0.05) and a positive COVID-19 test was also noticed. Conclusions: Certain symptoms such as anosmia were more commonly seen in patients with positive COVID-19 tests. The absence of pulmonary infiltrates and the presence of dyspnoea have been negative predictive factors for COVID-19. Leukopenia has been noticed only in SARS-CoV-2 positive patients. Subfebrility has not shown a predictive significance of COVID-19.