Your browser doesn't support javascript.
Social media for early characterization of pandemic symptoms: A qualitative analysis of patient-reported COVID-19 experiences.
Khashei, Melissa; Janiczak, Scott; St Clair, Christopher; Liu, Wei; Song, Jae Joon; Hua, Wei; Falconer, Monique; Eworuke, Efe.
  • Khashei M; Office of Medical Policy, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA.
  • Janiczak S; Office of Surveillance and Epidemiology, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA.
  • St Clair C; Office of New Drugs, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA.
  • Liu W; Office of Surveillance and Epidemiology, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA.
  • Song JJ; Office of Biostatistics, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, US Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA.
  • Hua W; Office of Surveillance and Epidemiology, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA.
  • Falconer M; Office of Surveillance and Epidemiology, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA.
  • Eworuke E; Office of Surveillance and Epidemiology, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA.
Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf ; 2022 Nov 05.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2242131
ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND:

Patients use social media forums to discuss their medical history and healthcare experiences, providing early insight into real-world patient experiences. We analyzed COVID-19 patient experiences from Reddit social media posts.

METHODS:

We extracted Reddit Application Programming Interface data for the subreddit/COVID-19 positive from March to August 2020 and selected users tagged as "Tested Positive" or "Tested Positive- Me" flair and who posted at least thirty times in any calendar month, excluding users who explicitly stated location outside of the U.S. For tested-positive patients (users), we created and reviewed individual case profiles summarizing their COVID-19 symptoms, testing, and medications or treatments. Data were imported to Nvivo qualitative analysis software and qualitative coding was conducted.

FINDING:

There were 31 759 posts and comments from 720 users in March to May 2020 (Q1) and 40 446 posts and comments from 1649 users from June to August 2020 (Q2). Final count of "Tested Positive" was 1296 users (280 in Q1 and 1016 in Q2). Across both quarters, frequently reported symptoms included sore throat, headaches, fevers, or chills. Loss of sense of smell or taste were reported by users in early March, prior to the inclusion of this symptom to the CDC list in April and GI-related symptoms and fatigue were reported in the March to May data, before they were added as a COVID-19 associated symptom in July 2020. Users also reported in-depth descriptions of their symptoms, motivations for testing, and long-term impacts such as post-viral fatigue.

INTERPRETATION:

Social media data can potentially serve as an early surveillance data source in a pandemic and offer preliminary insights into patient disease experiences.
Keywords

Full text: Available Collection: International databases Database: MEDLINE Type of study: Prognostic study / Qualitative research Topics: Long Covid Language: English Journal subject: Epidemiology / Drug Therapy Year: 2022 Document Type: Article Affiliation country: Pds.5564

Similar

MEDLINE

...
LILACS

LIS


Full text: Available Collection: International databases Database: MEDLINE Type of study: Prognostic study / Qualitative research Topics: Long Covid Language: English Journal subject: Epidemiology / Drug Therapy Year: 2022 Document Type: Article Affiliation country: Pds.5564