Epidemiological Observations on the Association Between Anosmia and COVID-19 Infection: Analysis of Data From a Self-Assessment Web Application.
J Med Internet Res
; 22(6): e19855, 2020 06 11.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-605146
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
We developed a self-assessment and participatory surveillance web application for coronavirus disease (COVID-19), which was launched in France in March 2020.OBJECTIVE:
Our objective was to determine if self-reported symptoms could help monitor the dynamics of the COVID-19 outbreak in France.METHODS:
Users were asked questions about underlying conditions, sociodemographic status, zip code, and COVID-19 symptoms. Depending on the symptoms reported and the presence of coexisting disorders, users were told to either stay at home, contact a general practitioner (GP), or call an emergency phone number. Data regarding COVID-19-related hospitalizations were retrieved from the Ministry of Health.RESULTS:
As of March 29, 2020, the application was opened 4,126,789 times; 3,799,535 electronic questionnaires were filled out; and 2,477,174 users had at least one symptom. In total, 34.8% (n=1,322,361) reported no symptoms. The remaining users were directed to self-monitoring (n=858,878, 22.6%), GP visit or teleconsultation (n=1,033,922, 27.2%), or an emergency phone call (n=584,374, 15.4%). Emergency warning signs were reported by 39.1% of participants with anosmia, a loss of the sense of smell (n=127,586) versus 22.7% of participants without anosmia (n=1,597,289). Anosmia and fever and/or cough were correlated with hospitalizations for COVID-19 (Spearman correlation coefficients=0.87 and 0.82, respectively; P<.001 for both).CONCLUSIONS:
This study suggests that anosmia may be strongly associated with COVID-19 and its severity. Despite a lack of medical assessment and virological confirmation, self-checking application data could be a relevant tool to monitor outbreak trends. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04331171; https//clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04331171.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Pneumonia, Viral
/
Self-Assessment
/
Surveys and Questionnaires
/
Coronavirus Infections
/
Betacoronavirus
/
Olfaction Disorders
Type of study:
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
/
Randomized controlled trials
Limits:
Adolescent
/
Adult
/
Aged
/
Humans
/
Middle aged
/
Young adult
Country/Region as subject:
Europa
Language:
English
Journal:
J Med Internet Res
Journal subject:
Medical Informatics
Year:
2020
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
19855
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