The incubation period during the pandemic of COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Syst Rev
; 10(1): 101, 2021 04 08.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1175346
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
The aim of our study was to determine through a systematic review and meta-analysis the incubation period of COVID-19. It was conducted based on the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA). Criteria for eligibility were all published population-based primary literature in PubMed interface and the Science Direct, dealing with incubation period of COVID-19, written in English, since December 2019 to December 2020. We estimated the mean of the incubation period using meta-analysis, taking into account between-study heterogeneity, and the analysis with moderator variables.RESULTS:
This review included 42 studies done predominantly in China. The mean and median incubation period were of maximum 8 days and 12 days respectively. In various parametric models, the 95th percentiles were in the range 10.3-16 days. The highest 99th percentile would be as long as 20.4 days. Out of the 10 included studies in the meta-analysis, 8 were conducted in China, 1 in Singapore, and 1 in Argentina. The pooled mean incubation period was 6.2 (95% CI 5.4, 7.0) days. The heterogeneity (I2 77.1%; p < 0.001) was decreased when we included the study quality and the method of calculation used as moderator variables (I2 0%). The mean incubation period ranged from 5.2 (95% CI 4.4 to 5.9) to 6.65 days (95% CI 6.0 to 7.2).CONCLUSIONS:
This work provides additional evidence of incubation period for COVID-19 and showed that it is prudent not to dismiss the possibility of incubation periods up to 14 days at this stage of the epidemic.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Infectious Disease Incubation Period
/
Pandemics
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Reviews
/
Systematic review/Meta Analysis
Limits:
Humans
Country/Region as subject:
South America
/
Argentina
/
Asia
Language:
English
Journal:
Syst Rev
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
S13643-021-01648-y
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