Proposal of COVID-19 Clinical Risk Score for the management of suspected COVID-19 cases: a case control study.
BMC Infect Dis
; 20(1): 858, 2020 Nov 18.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-934259
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
No clinical scoring system has yet been established to estimate the likelihood of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and determine the suitability of diagnostic testing in suspected COVID-19 patients.METHODS:
This was a single-center, retrospective, observational study of patients with suspected COVID-19 and confirmed COVID-19. Patient background, clinical course, laboratory and computed tomography (CT) findings, and the presence of alternative diagnoses were evaluated. Clinical risk scores were developed based on clinical differences between patients with and without COVID-19.RESULTS:
Among 110 patients suspected of having COVID-19, 60.9% underwent polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing based on the judgment of physicians. Two patients were found to have COVID-19. The clinical characteristics of 108 non-COVID-19 patients were compared with those of 23 confirmed COVID-19 patients. Patients with COVID-19 were more likely to have a history of high-risk exposures and an abnormal sense of taste and smell. The COVID-19 group had significantly higher rates of subnormal white blood cell counts, lower eosinophil counts, and lower procalcitonin levels than the non-COVID-19 group. When blood test results, CT findings, and the presence of alternative diagnoses were scored on an 11-point scale (i.e., "COVID-19 Clinical Risk Score"), the COVID-19 group scored significantly higher than the non-COVID-19 group, more than four points in the COVID-19 group. All non-COVID patients who did not undergo PCR had a score of 4 or less.CONCLUSIONS:
The COVID-19 Clinical Risk Score may enable the risk classification of patients suspected of having COVID-19 and can help in decision-making in clinical practice, including appropriateness of diagnostic testing. Further studies and prospective validation with an increased sample size are required.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Research Design
/
COVID-19 Testing
/
SARS-CoV-2
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Diagnostic study
/
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
/
Randomized controlled trials
Limits:
Adolescent
/
Adult
/
Aged
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
/
Young adult
Country/Region as subject:
Asia
Language:
English
Journal:
BMC Infect Dis
Journal subject:
Communicable Diseases
Year:
2020
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
S12879-020-05604-4
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