Predictive usefulness of RT-PCR testing in different patterns of Covid-19 symptomatology: analysis of a French cohort of 12,810 outpatients.
Sci Rep
; 11(1): 21233, 2021 10 27.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1493229
ABSTRACT
Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) is a key tool to diagnose Covid-19. Yet it may not be the most efficient test in all patients. In this paper, we develop a clinical strategy for prescribing RT-PCR to patients based on data from COVIDOM, a French cohort of 54,000 patients with clinically suspected Covid-19, including 12,810 patients tested by RT-PCR. We use a machine-learning algorithm (decision tree) in order to predict RT-PCR results based on the clinical presentation. We show that symptoms alone are sufficient to predict RT-PCR outcome with a mean average precision of 86%. We identify combinations of symptoms that are predictive of RT-PCR positivity (90% for anosmia/ageusia) or negativity (only 30% of RT-PCR+ for a subgroup with cardiopulmonary symptoms) in both cases, RT-PCR provides little added diagnostic value. We propose a prescribing strategy based on clinical presentation that can improve the global efficiency of RT-PCR testing.
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
COVID-19 Nucleic Acid Testing
/
SARS-CoV-2
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Cohort study
/
Diagnostic study
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
Limits:
Adolescent
/
Adult
/
Aged
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
/
Young adult
Country/Region as subject:
Europa
Language:
English
Journal:
Sci Rep
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
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