This article is a Preprint
Preprints are preliminary research reports that have not been certified by peer review. They should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Preprints posted online allow authors to receive rapid feedback and the entire scientific community can appraise the work for themselves and respond appropriately. Those comments are posted alongside the preprints for anyone to read them and serve as a post publication assessment.
COVID-19 in Great Britain: epidemiological and clinical characteristics of the first few hundred (FF100) cases: a descriptive case series and case control analysis
Preprint
in English
| medRxiv
| ID: ppmedrxiv-20086157
ABSTRACT
ObjectivesFollowing detection of the first virologically-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Great Britain, an enhanced surveillance study was initiated by Public Health England to describe the clinical presentation, course of disease and underlying health conditions associated with infection of the first few hundred cases. MethodsInformation was collected on the first COVID-19 cases according to the First Few X WHO protocol. Case-control analyses of the sensitivity, specificity and predictive value of symptoms and underlying health conditions associated with infection were conducted. Point prevalences of underlying health conditions among the UK general population were presented. FindingsThe majority of FF100 cases were imported (51.4%), of which the majority had recent travel to Italy (71.4%). 24.7% were secondary cases acquired mainly through household contact (40.4%). Children had lower odds of COVID-19 infection compared with the general population. The clinical presentation of cases was dominated by cough, fever and fatigue. Non-linear relationships with age were observed for fever, and sensitivity and specificity of symptoms varied by age. Conditions associated with higher odds of COVID-19 infection (after adjusting for age and sex) were chronic heart disease, immunosuppression and multimorbidity. ConclusionThis study presents the first epidemiological and clinical summary of COVID-19 cases in Great Britain. The FFX study design enabled systematic data collection. The study characterized underlying health conditions associated with infection and set relative risks in context with population prevalence estimates. It also provides important evidence for generating case definitions to support public health risk assessment, clinical triage and diagnostic algorithms.
cc_no
Full text:
Available
Collection:
Preprints
Database:
medRxiv
Type of study:
Diagnostic study
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
/
Systematic review
Language:
English
Year:
2020
Document type:
Preprint