Development of a Novel Scoring System for Comprehensive COVID-19 Patient Evaluation: An Evidence-Based Systematic Review

ABSTRACT

Context In the era of the SARS-CoV-2 virus pandemic, new scoring systems need to be developed to estimate the risk of COVID-19 complications aiding in the accurate prognosis. Improved scoring systems by combining multiple variables allow clinicians to optimize the allocation of limited medical resources for the best clinical outcomes. Methods: Published articles were selected that assessed the relationship between clinical, para-clinical, demographics, comorbidities, and outcomes of COVID-19 patients in a systematic review to develop a novel scoring system. Results: In this study, by summarizing the results of 97 studies and the experiences of experts, prognostic factors were determined and divided into four groups Age, clinical symptoms, co-morbidities, and tests. Twenty-three published articles met the selection criteria and were included in this study. Accordingly, by the opinion of experts, prognostic factors were categorized into four main groups Age, clinical symptoms, co-morbidities, and specific test results. Conclusions: This novel scoring model helps physicians to early identify critical COVID-19 patients and optimize patient management based on recent comprehensive data of the most significant predictive factors.