Acute epiglottitis in a COVID-19 positive patient.

There have been more than 178 million global cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, with more than 3.8 million deaths worldwide [1]. COVID-19 can present with a wide variety of symptoms, and one rare manifestation that has been reported in the literature is acute epiglottitis. To date, there have been two reported cases of acute epiglottitis in COVID-19 positive patients [2, 3]. We present a case of a 49-year-old male presenting to a community emergency department with the chief complaint of dysphagia and sore throat, confirmed as acute epiglottitis, in the presence of a positive rapid COVID-19 PCR test.

Ear, Nose, and Throat Manifestations of COVID-19 in Children.

The article reviews and analyzes the different ear, nose, and throat (ENT)-related manifestations reported in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-positive pediatric patients (age <18 years) in peer-reviewed and published literature. We searched the PubMed database using medical subject headings and associated key words, focusing on ENT symptoms in children with COVID-19. We included relevant published and peer-reviewed articles in English and excluded case reports and articles in press. There were 1,140 children positive for COVID-19 (56% boys) in the 23 studies included in this review. Although 11% of patients were asymptomatic, the most common symptoms reported were fever (48%) and cough (37%). Nasal symptoms (stuffy nose, nasal congestion, rhinorrhea) and sore throat occurred in about 22% of all patients. Otitis, dizziness, anosmia, and ageusia are hardly reported in children with COVID-19. Although fever and cough are the most common symptoms, ENT manifestations are frequently observed in pediatric patients with COVID-19. [Pediatr Ann. 2021;50(7):e277-e281.].

Predictive symptoms for COVID-19 in the community: REACT-1 study of over 1 million people.

BACKGROUND: Rapid detection, isolation, and contact tracing of community COVID-19 cases are essential measures to limit the community spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). We aimed to identify a parsimonious set of symptoms that jointly predict COVID-19 and investigated whether predictive symptoms differ between the B.1.1.7 (Alpha) lineage (predominating as of April 2021 in the US, UK, and elsewhere) and wild type. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We obtained throat and nose swabs with valid SARS-CoV-2 PCR test results from 1,147,370 volunteers aged 5 years and above (6,450 positive cases) in the REal-time Assessment of Community Transmission-1 (REACT-1) study. This study involved repeated community-based random surveys of prevalence in England (study rounds 2 to 8, June 2020 to January 2021, response rates 22%-27%). Participants were asked about symptoms occurring in the week prior to testing. Viral genome sequencing was carried out for PCR-positive samples with N-gene cycle threshold value < 34 (N = 1,079) in round 8 (January 2021). In univariate analysis, all 26 surveyed symptoms were associated with PCR positivity compared with non-symptomatic people. Stability selection (1,000 penalized logistic regression models with 50% subsampling) among people reporting at least 1 symptom identified 7 symptoms as jointly and positively predictive of PCR positivity in rounds 2-7 (June to December 2020): loss or change of sense of smell, loss or change of sense of taste, fever, new persistent cough, chills, appetite loss, and muscle aches. The resulting model (rounds 2-7) predicted PCR positivity in round 8 with area under the curve (AUC) of 0.77. The same 7 symptoms were selected as jointly predictive of B.1.1.7 infection in round 8, although when comparing B.1.1.7 with wild type, new persistent cough and sore throat were more predictive of B.1.1.7 infection while loss or change of sense of smell was more predictive of the wild type. The main limitations of our study are (i) potential participation bias despite random sampling of named individuals from the National Health Service register and weighting designed to achieve a representative sample of the population of England and (ii) the necessary reliance on self-reported symptoms, which may be prone to recall bias and may therefore lead to biased estimates of symptom prevalence in England. CONCLUSIONS: Where testing capacity is limited, it is important to use tests in the most efficient way possible. We identified a set of 7 symptoms that, when considered together, maximize detection of COVID-19 in the community, including infection with the B.1.1.7 lineage.

Clinical features of COVID-19 in Ghana: symptomatology, illness severity and comorbid non-communicable diseases.

OBJECTIVE: This analysis described the clinical features of COVID-19 in the early phase of the pandemic in Ghana. METHODS: Data were extracted from two national COVID-19 treatment centers in Ghana for over 11 weeks(from March to May 2020). Descriptive and inferential statistics were performed. Modified Ordered Logistic and Negative Binomial Regression analysis were applied to establish factors associated with illness severity and Non-communicable Disease (NCDs) counts respectively. All analysis was conducted at the 95% confidence level (p-value ≤ 0.05) using Stata 16. RESULTS: Among the 275 patients, the average age was 40.7±16.4, with a preponderance of males (54.5%). The three commonest symptoms presented were cough (21.3%), headache (15.7%), and sore throat (11.7%). Only 7.6% of the patients had a history of fever. Most patients were asymptomatic (51.65). Approximately 38.9% have an underlying co-morbid NCDs, with Hypertension (32.1%), Diabetes (9.9%), and Asthma (5.2%) being the three commonest. The odds of Moderate/severe (MoS) was significantly higher for those with unknown exposures to similar illness [aOR(95%CI) = 4.27(1.12-10.2)] compared with non-exposure to similar illness. An increased unit of NCD's count significantly increased the odds of COVID-19 MoS illness by 26%[cOR(95%CI) =1.26(1.09-1.84)] and 67% (adjusting for age) [aOR(95%CI)=1.67(1.13-2.49)]. CONCLUSION: The presence of cardiovascular co-morbidities dictated the frequency of reported symptoms and severity of COVID-19 infection in this sample of Ghanaians. Physicians should be aware of the presence of co-morbid NCDs and prepare to manage effectively among COVID-19 patients. FUNDING: None declared.

Sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of the first cohort of COVID-19 recoveries at two national treatment centres in Accra, Ghana.

INTRODUCTION: COVID-19 is a new disease, knowledge on the mode of transmission and clinical features are still evolving, new tests are being developed with inherent challenges regarding interpretation of tests results. There is generally, a gap in knowledge on the virus globally as the pandemic evolves and in Ghana, there is dearth of information and documentation on the clinical characteristics of the virus. With these in mind, we set out to profile the initial cohort of COVID-19 patients who recovered in Ghana. METHODS: We reviewed clinical records of all confirmed cases of COVID-19 who had recovered from the two main treatment centres in Accra, Ghana. Descriptive data analysis was employed and presented in simple and relational tables. Independent t-test and ANOVA were used to determine differences in the mean age of the sexes and the number of days taken for the first and second retesting to be done per selected patient characteristics. RESULTS: Of the 146 records reviewed, 54% were male; mean age of patients was 41.9 ± 17.5 years, nearly half were asymptomatic, with 9% being severely ill. The commonest presenting symptoms were cough (22.6%), headache (13%) and sore throat (11%) while the commonest co-morbidities were hypertension (25.3%), diabetes mellitus (14%) and heart disease (3.4%). CONCLUSION: COVID-19 affected more males than females; nearly half of those infected were asymptomatic. Cough, headache and sore throat were the commonest symptoms and mean duration from case confirmation to full recovery was 19 days. Further research is required as pandemic evolves. FUNDING: None declared.

Otolaryngology manifestations of COVID-19 in pediatric patients.

BACKGROUND: The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has affected millions of people since its outbreak in December 2019. Limited data exist on otolaryngology manifestations of COVID-19 in pediatrics. This study aims to discuss the clinical features of COVID-19 in pediatrics, with an emphasis on otolaryngology manifestations. METHODS: The study included 660 COVID-19 laboratory-confirmed positive pediatric patients (aged 3-15 years) diagnosed at King Abdullah Specialist Children Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Data were retrospectively retrieved from January to July 2020 from electronic medical records and included patients' epidemiological and clinical features. Patients were then followed-up via phone calls to document any symptoms encountered after the first visit. Patients were categorized into three main groups according to age (3-6 years, 7-10 years, 11-15 years). RESULTS: Nearly half of the patients (43.6%) had asymptomatic infections. Fever and cough were the most commonly reported manifestations accounting for 39.2% and 19.8%, respectively. The most frequently reported otolaryngology symptoms were sore throat (17.3%) and rhinorrhea (14.4%). Moreover, 10.4% and 13.1% of children aged 7-15 years old experienced smell and taste disturbances, respectively. Older children (11-15 years) were more likely to report taste disturbances when compared to the younger children (17.2% vs 9.8%, p-value 0.02). Children aged between 3 and 6 years had significantly higher rates of admission (13.7%) and mortality (0.9%) when compared to the older groups (p-value 0.00). CONCLUSION: COVID-19 in pediatrics has a milder disease course and a better prognosis than adults. Multiple otolaryngology symptoms were reported in pediatric patients with COVID-19, which can help identify the suspected cases before the test result.

Infección por el nuevo coronavirus 2019 en niños.

COVID-19 is rarely reported in children and they are mildly affected in most cases. The most common clinical presentation of COVID-19 is cough, fever and sore throat; severe cases show tachypnea. The course of the disease is from one to two weeks. Laboratory findings are nonspecific; lymphopenia, elevation of C-reactive protein and procalcitonin have been described. Early chest X-ray is usually normal, and the most common tomographic findings are consolidations with halo, ground-glass opacities and tiny nodules which mainly affects subpleural areas. Management of the disease is supportive; in severe cases, it should be focused on respiratory support. It is recommended to limit the handling of respiratory secretions and to follow the same preventive measures provided to adults.

La enfermedad del coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) es poco frecuente en niños y su salud se ve poco comprometida en la mayoría de casos. La presentación clínica más común es tos, fiebre y eritema faríngeo, los casos graves suelen presentarse con taquipnea. El curso de la enfermedad es de una a dos semanas. Los hallazgos de laboratorio son inespecíficos, entre ellos, linfopenia, elevación de la proteína C reactiva y la procalcitonina. En fases iniciales, la radiografía torácica es usualmente normal, y los hallazgos tomográficos más comunes son consolidaciones con signo del halo, vidrio esmerilado y nódulos pequeños, que afectan principalmente las zonas subpleurales. El manejo es sintomático y, en los casos graves, debe estar enfocado a brindar soporte respiratorio. Se recomienda que la manipulación de las secreciones respiratorias sea limitada y que se tengan las mismas precauciones para evitar contaminación que en pacientes adultos.

A descriptive analysis of clinical characteristics of COVID-19 among healthcare workers in a district specialist hospital.

INTRODUCTION: COVID-19 is a highly transmissible respiratory virus that has affected millions of people worldwide in the span of months. The burden of disease among healthcare workers (HCW) has not been well studied despite reports of infectivity and transmission around the world. Two HCW in Hospital Teluk Intan (HTI) contracted COVID-19 while attending a social event. They were in close proximity with colleagues upon returning to work, resulting in the spread of infection among other HCW in HTI. OBJECTIVE: The objectives of this paper are to gain a better understanding of the key presenting symptoms of COVID-19 in HCWs in a district specialist hospital, to establish the proportion of symptomatic COVID-19 cases among HCWs and its severity and to determine the time taken from onset of symptoms or perceived exposure to diagnostic testing. METHODOLOGY: This is a retrospective descriptive analysis of clinical characteristics of subjects infected with COVID-19 among HCW in HTI. Their demography and clinical characteristics were recorded. RESULTS: There were 47 HCW in HTI who tested positive for COVID-19. The mean age of the patients was 37.5 years old. 7 patients (15.2%) had at least more than one comorbidity. Average duration of time from perceived close contact to onset of symptom was 4.5 days, while the mean duration of time from symptoms to first positive RT-PCR result was 3.4 days. Six patients (13.0%) were asymptomatic throughout, whereas 40 (87.0%) had at least one symptom prior to hospitalization. The most commonly reported symptoms were fever (65.2%), sore throat (39.1%) and cough (37.0%). In terms of severity of symptoms, the majority of patients experienced mild symptoms (Group 2, 52.2%). Two patients (4.3%) with multiple comorbidities had severe disease requiring ICU admission and mechanical ventilation. There were no mortalities, and the longest staying patient was hospitalized for 18 days. The high rates of infectivity among HCW in HTI can be attributed to working in close proximity while in the asymptomatic incubation phase, while no HCW directly involved in the care of COVID-19 positive patients were tested positive. CONCLUSION: We report that HCW share similar clinical characteristics of COVID-19 infection as those of non HCW patients in earlier studies. The infection can spread rapidly within healthcare settings via close contacts among infected HCWs. As such, we advocate distancing when working and usage of personal protective equipment when treating patients with respiratory illness to reduce transmission of COVID-19.

Epidemiological Characteristics of 64 Covid-19 Patients in Errachidia Province (Darâa-Tafilalet region), Morocco: A Retrospective Analysis.

BACKGROUND: At the time of writing this paper, no data was available for the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of African patients with COVID-19. Herein, we profiled retrospectively the epidemiological characteristics (clinical, laboratory, radiological, treatment, and clinical outcomes) of 64 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the Regional Hospital Center (RHC) of Errachidia in Morocco. The aim of this study was to analyze the epidemiological characteristics and laboratory Findings of Covid-19 patients in Errachidia Province, Morocco. METHODS: This is a retrospective single-center study that included all COVID-19 confirmed patients (died or discharged) hospitalized in the Regional Center of Errachidia, Morocco, between March 20, 2020 and May 23, 2020. Patients were confirmed by real-time RT-PCR and epidemiological, demographic, clinical, laboratory, treatment, and outcomes of patients were extracted manually from patient's medical records. RESULTS: In a total of 64 patients with COVID-19, 60.9% of patients were men, with a mean age of 41.5 years (SD 18.62). At the admission, 38 patients were asymptomatic (59.4%), and 58 (90.6%) were clinically classified as being in a benign state. Chronic illnesses were the most comorbidities observed, including diabetes with 8 cases (12.5%), hypertension 3 cases (4.7%), and hyperlipidemia 1 patient (1.6%). The main symptoms were cough 15 (23.4%), fever 10 (15.6), diarrhea 8 (12.5%), headache 5 (7.8%), and sore throat 5 (7.8%). Only 7 patients (10.9%) had lung lesions, and lymphopenia was present in only 7 patients (11.1%). The median duration of viral shedding was 14.5 days (9-22). Concerning deceased cases, they were elderly subjects aged 69.75 years, and they have presented dyspnea, breathing problems, and respiratory distress as specific symptoms. In addition, an increase of the medians of serum AST, CRP, and glucose levels was noticed in this group. During hospitalization, they presented acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), and they were transferred to intensive care before they died. CONCLUSION: This study revealed that covid-19 infection often appeared in a benign form in the studied population (90.6% in this study). This finding may incriminate the implication of some protective parameters such as genetic, nutritional or other factors in the Moroccan population.

Toxic shock-like syndrome and COVID-19: Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C).

Early reports of COVID-19 in pediatric populations emphasized a mild course of disease with severe cases disproportionately affecting infant and comorbid pediatric patients. After the peak of the epidemic in New York City, in late April to early May, cases of severe illness associated with COVID-19 were reported among mostly previously healthy children ages 5-19. Many of these cases feature a toxic shock-like syndrome or Kawasaki-like syndrome in the setting of SARS-CoV-2 positive diagnostic testing and the CDC has termed this presentation Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome (MIS-C). It is essential to disseminate information among the medical community regarding severe and atypical presentations of COVID-19 as prior knowledge can help communities with increasing caseloads prepare to quickly identify and treat these patients as they present in the emergency department. We describe a case of MIS-C in a child who presented to our Emergency Department (ED) twice and on the second visit was found to have signs of distributive shock, multi-organ injury and systemic inflammation associated with COVID-19. The case describes two ED visits by an 11- year-old SARS-CoV-2-positive female who initially presented with fever, rash and pharyngitis and returned within 48 hours with evidence of cardiac and renal dysfunction and fluid-refractory hypotension requiring vasopressors and PICU admission.

Patients assisted at the Department of Medicine of a pediatric hospital at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in Buenos Aires, Argentina. / Pacientes asistidos en el Departamento de Medicina de un hospital pediátrico en el inicio de la pandemia COVID-19 en Buenos Aires, Argentina.

INTRODUCTION: Despite the magnitude of the COVID-19 pandemic, the information about its development in pediatrics is still limited. This report describes the characteristics of patients admitted to a children's hospital due to COVID-19 during the first three months of the pandemic. METHOD: Descriptive study including all patients hospitalized due to COVID-19 between 4/1/2020 and 6/30/2020. RESULTS: A total of 191 patients were hospitalized due to COVID-19; their median age was 7.7 years; 89% had a history of close contact. Of them, 35.6 % were considered asymptomatic; 61.2 %, mild cases; and 3.2 %, moderate cases (no severe cases). None of them received a specific treatment for the disease. The most common symptoms were fever, sore throat, and cough. The median length of stay was 6 days. CONCLUSION: A total of 191 cases of children and adolescents admitted due to COVID-19 are reported. Most were asymptomatic or presented with a mild disease.

Introducción. A pesar de la magnitud de la pandemia por COVID-19, la información sobre su desarrollo en pediatría es aún limitada. Se describen las características de pacientes hospitalizados por COVID-19 en un hospital pediátrico durante los primeros tres meses de la pandemia. Método. Estudio descriptivo, que incluyó a todos los pacientes hospitalizados por COVID-19, desde el 1/4/2020 al 30/6/2020. Resultados. Se hospitalizaron 191 pacientes por COVID-19; la edad mediana fue 7,7 años; el 89 % presentaban antecedente de contacto. El 35,6 % se consideraron asintomáticos; el 61,2 %, leves, y el 3,2 %, moderados (no se observaron pacientes graves). Ninguno recibió tratamiento específico para la enfermedad. Los síntomas más frecuentes fueron fiebre, odinofagia y tos. La duración de la hospitalización tuvo una mediana de 6 días. Conclusión. Se reportaron 191 casos de niños y adolescentes hospitalizados por COVID-19. La mayoría fueron asintomáticos o presentaron enfermedad leve.

The Identification of First COVID-19 Cluster in Indonesia.

We describe the first 11 detected COVID-19 cases in Indonesia, resulting from a local transmission occurring in a club and a restaurant. The virus was detected until an average of 21.3 days (range: 11-25, SD: 4.1) after the onset of illness, and the partial N gene sequences (28,321-28,707 nucleotide position) had 100% similarity with the SARS-CoV-2 sequence from Wuhan. Two subjects were asymptomatic, and one subject has died.

COVID-19 in cancer patients can be challenging to screen in a resource limited setting.

During this COVID-19 pandemic, patients with symptoms such as fever, cough, sore throat, and coryza were advised to have RT-PCR testing for SARS-CoV-2 infection. We described here an elderly female with chronic lymphocytic leukemia, who presented with atypical symptoms that were not directly attributable to COVID-19. This patient was admitted to the non-COVID-19 ward for supportive care. Later, her chest x-ray revealed pneumonia that was confirmed to be COVID-19 by RT-PCR testing several days later. In resource-poor settings where molecular testing results suffered from delays or were altogether unavailable, the use of diagnostic imaging such as a chest x-ray could serve as a quick guide in the assessment and management of these patients especially if the imaging results suggest COVID-19 infection.

Implications for border containment strategies when COVID-19 presents atypically.

OBJECTIVES: For a large part of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, Singapore had managed to keep local cases in the single digits daily, with decisive measures. Yet, we saw this critical time point when the imported cases surged through our borders. The gaps which we can and have efficiently closed, using a public health approach and global border containment strategies, are aptly illustrated through this case. This critical point of imported case surge has resulted in a large spike of daily local cases sustained through community transmission, up to 120/day within a very short time frame. We were able to rapidly bring this under control. STUDY DESIGN: This is a case study of a patient who passed through our borders, with COVID-19 masquerading as a resolved sore throat. METHODS: The events were prospectively documented. RESULTS: We present a case of a 21-year-old student returning from Nottingham. He presented with sore throat as the only symptom the few days prior his return, and on arrival at our border (day 7 from initial symptoms), his sore throat had already resolved. The events leading up to his COVID-19 diagnosis highlight the gaps of the international screening processes at the global border entry and the potential consequences of community chain transmission through imported COVID-19 cases. CONCLUSIONS: An important global border control measure to implement quickly will be to expand the symptom list to isolated sore throat and/or a prior history of recent symptoms (resolved). This may capture a larger proportion of imported cases at border entry point for more effective containment. This piece will be equally relevant to the general physicians, emergency care physicians, otolaryngologists and anaesthetists, who are at higher risk of encountering a throat visualization during intubation and routine examination. This information can be useful to countries with low resources or insufficient COVID-19 testing kits.

Severe Coronavirus Disease-2019 in Children and Young Adults in the Washington, DC, Metropolitan Region.

Despite worldwide spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2, few publications have reported the potential for severe disease in the pediatric population. We report 177 infected children and young adults, including 44 hospitalized and 9 critically ill patients, with a comparison of patient characteristics between infected hospitalized and nonhospitalized cohorts, as well as critically ill and noncritically ill cohorts. Children <1 year and adolescents and young adults >15 years of age were over-represented among hospitalized patients (P = .07). Adolescents and young adults were over-represented among the critically ill cohort (P = .02).

COVID-19 symptoms predictive of healthcare workers' SARS-CoV-2 PCR results.

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus 2019 disease (COVID-19) is caused by the virus SARS-CoV-2, transmissible both person-to-person and from contaminated surfaces. Early COVID-19 detection among healthcare workers (HCWs) is crucial for protecting patients and the healthcare workforce. Because of limited testing capacity, symptom-based screening may prioritize testing and increase diagnostic accuracy. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We performed a retrospective study of HCWs undergoing both COVID-19 telephonic symptom screening and nasopharyngeal SARS-CoV-2 assays during the period, March 9-April 15, 2020. HCWs with negative assays but progressive symptoms were re-tested for SARS-CoV-2. Among 592 HCWs tested, 83 (14%) had an initial positive SARS-CoV-2 assay. Fifty-nine of 61 HCWs (97%) who were asymptomatic or reported only sore throat/nasal congestion had negative SARS-CoV-2 assays (P = 0.006). HCWs reporting three or more symptoms had an increased multivariate-adjusted odds of having positive assays, 1.95 (95% CI: 1.10-3.64), which increased to 2.61 (95% CI: 1.50-4.45) for six or more symptoms. The multivariate-adjusted odds of a positive assay were also increased for HCWs reporting fever and a measured temperature ≥ 37.5°C (3.49 (95% CI: 1.95-6.21)), and those with myalgias (1.83 (95% CI: 1.04-3.23)). Anosmia/ageusia (i.e. loss of smell/loss of taste) was reported less frequently (16%) than other symptoms by HCWs with positive assays, but was associated with more than a seven-fold multivariate-adjusted odds of a positive test: OR = 7.21 (95% CI: 2.95-17.67). Of 509 HCWs with initial negative SARS-CoV-2 assays, nine had symptom progression and positive re-tests, yielding an estimated negative predictive value of 98.2% (95% CI: 96.8-99.0%) for the exclusion of clinically relevant COVID-19. CONCLUSIONS: Symptom and temperature reports are useful screening tools for predicting SARS-CoV-2 assay results in HCWs. Anosmia/ageusia, fever, and myalgia were the strongest independent predictors of positive assays. The absence of symptoms or symptoms limited to nasal congestion/sore throat were associated with negative assays.

Clinical features of COVID-19 and influenza: a comparative study on Nord Franche-Comte cluster.

Clinical descriptions about influenza-like illnesses (ILI) in COVID-19 seem non-specific. We aimed to compare the clinical features of COVID-19 and influenza. We retrospectively investigated the clinical features and outcomes of confirmed cases of COVID-19 and influenza in Nord Franche-Comté Hospital between February 26th and March 14th 2020. We used SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR and influenza virus A/B RT-PCR in respiratory samples to confirm the diagnosis. We included 124 patients. The mean age was 59 (±19 [19-98]) years with 69% female. 70 patients with COVID-19 and 54 patients with influenza A/B. Regarding age, sex and comorbidities, no differences were found between the two groups except a lower Charlson index in COVID-19 group (2 [±2.5] vs 3 [±2.4],p = 0.003). Anosmia (53% vs 17%,p < 0.001), dysgeusia (49% vs 20%,p = 0.001), diarrhea (40% vs 20%,p = 0.021), frontal headache (26% vs 9%,p = 0.021) and bilateral cracklings sounds (24% vs 9%,p = 0.034) were statistically more frequent in COVID-19. Sputum production (52% vs 29%,p = 0.010), dyspnea (59% vs 34%,p = 0.007), sore throat (44% vs 20%,p = 0.006), conjunctival hyperhemia (30% vs 4%,p < 0.001), tearing (24% vs 6%,p = 0.004), vomiting (22% vs 3%,p = 0.001) and rhonchi sounds (17% vs 1%,p = 0.002) were more frequent with influenza infection. We described several clinical differences which can help the clinicians during the co-circulation of influenza and SARS-CoV-2.

Imported and locally transmitted mild SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia cases in Japan.

Here, we describe two mild SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia cases. One was imported from Wuhan, and the other was locally transmitted in Japan without recent travel to China. In both cases, lower respiratory tract symptoms were observed first, and high fever progressed in about one week. The laboratory findings revealed normal WBC and CRP despite apparent lung infiltrations, and typical observations on CT imaging were important diagnostic clues. In the domestic endemic situation, a comprehensive evaluation of the clinical course, and laboratory and radiological findings was required for diagnosis.