Symptom presentation of SARS-CoV-2-positive and negative patients: a nested case-control study among patients calling the emergency medical service and medical helpline.

OBJECTIVE: Currently effective symptom-based screening of patients suspected of COVID-19 is limited. We aimed to investigate age-related differences in symptom presentations of patients tested positive and negative for SARS-CoV-2. DESIGN: SETTING: Calls to the medical helpline (1-8-1-3) and emergency number (1-1-2) in Copenhagen, Denmark. At both medical services all calls are recorded. PARTICIPANTS: We included calls for patients who called for help/guidance at the medical helpline or emergency number prior to receiving a test for SARS-CoV-2 between April 1st and 20th 2020 (8423 patients). Among these calls, we randomly sampled recorded calls from 350 patients who later tested positive and 250 patients tested negative and registered symptoms described in the call. OUTCOME: RESULTS: After exclusions, 544 calls (312 SARS-CoV-2 positive and 232 negative) were included in the analysis. Fever and cough remained the two most common of COVID-19 symptoms across all age groups and approximately 42% of SARS-CoV-2 positive and 20% of negative presented with both fever and cough. Symptoms including nasal congestion, irritation/pain in throat, muscle/joint pain, loss of taste and smell, and headache were common symptoms of COVID-19 for patients younger than 60 years; whereas loss of appetite and feeling unwell were more commonly seen among patients over 60 years. Headache and loss of taste and smell were rare symptoms of COVID-19 among patients over 60 years. CONCLUSION: Our study identified age-related differences in symptom presentations of SARS-CoV-2-positive patients calling for help or medical advice. The specific symptoms of loss of smell or taste almost exclusively reported by patients younger than 60 years. Differences in symptom presentation across age groups must be considered when screening for COVID-19.

[Tobacco and pregnancy in Denmark].

The risks of smoking during pregnancy are serious and well-documented. It is assumed that we do not identify all pregnant women with tobacco and nicotine consumption. Therefore, a new national Danish guideline presents a new screening and referral model for use from early pregnancy. All tobacco and nicotine consumption must be covered, including previous smoking and exposure to tobacco smoke. All pregnant women should be offered help to stop smoking or use of smokeless tobacco and help to avoid any exposure to tobacco smoke. Reference can be made to the municipality, Stoplinien and/or the hospital.

Children Hospitalized With Varicella in Denmark: Sensitivity of the National Patient Register.

BACKGROUND: Varicella, common in childhood and most often self-limiting, may cause complications including bacterial superinfection, pneumonia and encephalitis. Universal childhood varicella vaccination has been introduced in several countries, but is controversial in Europe. In Denmark, varicella is not part of the national immunization program and there is no national surveillance of varicella. The primary aim of the study was to describe the epidemiology and clinical characteristics of children hospitalized with varicella in Denmark. The secondary aim was to validate the sensitivity and completeness of the Danish National Patient Register. METHODS: Active surveillance of children hospitalized with varicella was carried out at 4 pediatric departments. In the Danish National Patient Register, we identified all children discharged with an International Classification of Diseases, 10th revision code of varicella from the 4 departments. We used a capture-recapture analysis to estimate the "true" number of hospitalized children with varicella. RESULTS: By active surveillance, we identified 86 children eligible for clinical description. In 87% of cases, the children were 0-4 years of age. Complications were identified in 69% of patients, including 1 child with postvaricella cerebral angiopathy. In the National Patient register (NPR), we identified 125 children with a discharge diagnosis of varicella. By capture-recapture analysis, the sensitivity of the NPR was estimated to be 74%. CONCLUSIONS: Varicella can cause serious complications including cerebral angiopathy in children in Denmark. The NPR will be a useful tool for estimating hospitalization incidence, but will underestimate the true number of hospitalizations.