Clinical and epidemiological characteristics of 1420 European patients with mild‐to‐moderate coronavirus disease 2019
Open accessAbstract
Background: The clinical presentation of European patients with mild‐to‐moderate COVID‐19 infection is still unknown. Objective: To study the clinical presentation of COVID‐19 in Europe. Methods: Patients with positive diagnosis of COVID‐19 were recruited from 18 European hospitals. Epidemiological and clinical data were obtained through a standardized questionnaire. Bayesian analysis was used for analysing the relationship between outcomes. Results: A total of 1,420 patients completed the study (962 females, 30.7% of healthcare workers). The mean age of patients was 39.17 ± 12.09 years. The most common symptoms were headache (70.3%), loss of smell (70.2%), nasal obstruction (67.8%), cough (63.2%), asthenia (63.3%), myalgia (62.5%), rhinorrhea (60.1%), gustatory dysfunction (54.2%) and sore throat (52.9%). Fever was reported by 45.4%. The mean duration of COVID‐19 symptoms of mild‐to‐moderate cured patients was 11.5 ± 5.7 days. The prevalence of symptoms significantly varied according to age and sex. Young patients more frequently had ear, nose and throat complaints, whereas elderly individuals often presented fever, fatigue and loss of appetite. Loss of smell, headache, nasal obstruction and fatigue were more prevalent in female patients. The loss of smell was a key symptom of mild‐to‐moderate COVID‐19 patients and was not associated with nasal obstruction and rhinorrhea. Loss of smell persisted at least 7 days after the disease in 37.5% of cured patients. Conclusion: The clinical presentation of mild‐to‐moderate COVID‐19 substantially varies according to the age and the sex characteristics of patients. Olfactory dysfunction seems to be an important underestimated symptom of mild‐to‐moderate COVID‐19 that needs to be recognized as such by the WHO.
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
COVID-related anosmia has been reported to occur in at least some cases in the absence of significant nasal inflammation or coryzal symptoms.
“in at least some cases COVID-related anosmia has been reported to occur in the absence of significant nasal inflammation or coryzal symptoms (11, 14-16).”
From Non-neuronal expression of SARS-CoV-2 entry genes in the olfactory system suggests mechanisms underlying COVID-19-associated anosmia (2020) · cites this paper as [15]
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Cites
Part of this paper’s reference list could not be split into single entries.
Clinical features of patients infected with 2019 novel coronavirus in Wuhan, China
Huang, C., Wang, Y., Li, X., Ren, L., Zhao, J., Hu, Y., Zhang, L., Fan, G., Xu, J., Gu, X., et al. (2020) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(20)30183-5 · Cited by 48,884 · see citing works
Clinical characteristics of coronavirus disease 2019 in China
Guan, W.-J., Ni, Z.-Y., Hu, Y., Liang, W.-H., Ou, C.-Q., He, J.-X., Liu, L., Shan, H., Lei, C.-L., Hui, D. S. C., et al. (2020) · New England Journal of Medicine · doi:10.1056/nejmoa2002032 · Cited by 30,246 · see citing works
Zhou, F., Yu, T., Du, R., Fan, G., Liu, Y., Liu, Z., Xiang, J., Wang, Y., Song, B., Gu, X., et al. (2020) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(20)30566-3 · Cited by 27,263 · see citing works
Wu, Z., & McGoogan, J. M. (2020) · JAMA · doi:10.1001/jama.2020.2648 · Cited by 17,016 · see citing works
Neurologic manifestations of hospitalized patients with coronavirus disease 2019 in Wuhan, China
Mao, L., Jin, H., Wang, M., Hu, Y., Chen, S., He, Q., Chang, J., Hong, C., Zhou, Y., Wang, D., et al. (2020) · JAMA Neurology · doi:10.1001/jamaneurol.2020.1127 · Cited by 7,166 · see citing works
Li, Y., Bai, W., & Hashikawa, T. (2020) · Journal of Medical Virology · doi:10.1002/jmv.25728 · Cited by 2,266 · see citing works
COVID‐19 patients' clinical characteristics, discharge rate, and fatality rate of meta‐analysis
Li, L., Huang, T., Wang, Y., Wang, Z., Liang, Y., Huang, T., Zhang, H., Sun, W., & Wang, Y. (2020) · Journal of Medical Virology · doi:10.1002/jmv.25757 · Cited by 1,492 · see citing works
Wang, L., He, W., Yu, X., Hu, D., Bao, M., Liu, H., Zhou, J., & Jiang, H. X. (2020) · Journal of Infection · doi:10.1016/j.jinf.2020.03.019 · Cited by 1,228 · see citing works
Phylogenetic network analysis of SARS-CoV-2 genomes
Forster, P., Forster, L., Renfrew, C., & Förster, M. (2020) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.2004999117 · Cited by 1,026 · see citing works
Receptor and viral determinants of SARS‐coronavirus adaptation to human ACE2
Li, W., Zhang, C., Sui, J., Kuhn, J. H., Moore, M. J., Luo, S., Wong, S.-K., Huang, I., Xu, K., Vasilieva, N. Y., et al. (2005) · The EMBO Journal · doi:10.1038/sj.emboj.7600640 · Cited by 976 · see citing works
Diagnosis of the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19): rRT-PCR or CT?
Long, C.-Q., Xu, H., Shen, Q., Zhang, X., Fan, B., Wang, C., Zeng, B., Li, Z., Li, X., & Li, H. (2020) · European Journal of Radiology · doi:10.1016/j.ejrad.2020.108961 · Cited by 964 · see citing works
Cao, Y., Li, L., Feng, Z., Wan, S., Huang, P., Sun, X., Wen, F., Huang, X., Ning, G., & Wang, W. (2020) · Cell Discovery · doi:10.1038/s41421-020-0147-1 · Cited by 865 · see citing works
The establishment of reference sequence for SARS‐CoV‐2 and variation analysis
Wang, C., Liu, Z., Chen, Z., Huang, X., Xu, M., He, T., & Zhang, Z. (2020) · Journal of Medical Virology · doi:10.1002/jmv.25762 · Cited by 489 · see citing works
Coronavirus COV-19/SARS-CoV-2 affects women less than men: clinical response to viral infection.
Conti, P. (2020) · Journal of Biological Regulators and Homeostatic Agents/Journal of Biological Regulators & Homeostatic Agents · doi:10.23812/editorial-conti-3 · Cited by 446 · see citing works
Identification of Viruses in Patients With Postviral Olfactory Dysfunction
Suzuki, M., Saito, K., Min, W., Vladau, C., Toida, K., Itoh, H., & Murakami, S. (2007) · The Laryngoscope · doi:10.1097/01.mlg.0000249922.37381.1e · Cited by 383 · see citing works
Cao, Y., Liu, X., Xiong, L., & Cai, K. (2020) · Journal of Medical Virology · doi:10.1002/jmv.25822 · Cited by 343 · see citing works
The first two cases of 2019‐nCoV in Italy: Where they come from?
Giovanetti, M., Benvenuto, D., Angeletti, S., & Ciccozzi, M. (2020) · Journal of Medical Virology · doi:10.1002/jmv.25699 · Cited by 338 · see citing works
Monitoring transmissibility and mortality of COVID-19 in Europe
Yuan, J., Li, M., Lv, G., & Lu, K. (2020) · International Journal of Infectious Diseases · doi:10.1016/j.ijid.2020.03.050 · Cited by 335 · see citing works
Russell, B. A., Moss, C. L., Rigg, A. S., & Hemelrijck, M. V. (2020) · ecancermedicalscience · doi:10.3332/ecancer.2020.1023 · Cited by 286 · see citing works
Li, Y., Bai, W., & Hashikawa, T. (2020) · Journal of Medical Virology · doi:10.1002/jmv.25824 · Cited by 134 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Research works printed but not linked: 2
- [8]8. Huang C, Wang Y, Li X, et al. Clinical features of patients infected with 2019 novel coronavirus in Wuhan, China. Lancet 2020;395:497-506.
- [14]14. Mao L, Wang M, Chen S, et al. Neurological Manifestations of Hospitalized Patients with COVID-19 in Wuhan, China: a retrospective case series study. MedRXiv, in press. 2020.
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Brann, D. H., Tsukahara, T., Weinreb, C., Lipovsek, M., Van den Berge, K., Gong, B., Chance, R., Macaulay, I. C., Chou, H.-J., Fletcher, R. B., et al. (2020) · Science Advances · doi:10.1126/sciadv.abc5801 · Cited by 1,198 · see citing works
Follow-up of adults with noncritical COVID-19 two months after symptom onset
Carvalho-Schneider, C., Laurent, E., Lemaignen, A., Beaufils, E., Bourbao-Tournois, C., Laribi, S., Flament, T., Ferreira-Maldent, N., Bruyère, F., Stefic, K., et al. (2021) · Clinical Microbiology and Infection · doi:10.1016/j.cmi.2020.09.052 · Cited by 764 · see citing works
COVID-19 Artificial Intelligence Diagnosis Using Only Cough Recordings
Laguarta, J., Hueto, F., & Subirana, B. (2020) · IEEE Open Journal of Engineering in Medicine and Biology · doi:10.1109/ojemb.2020.3026928 · Cited by 589 · see citing works
Traumatic Stress in Healthcare Workers during COVID-19 Pandemic: A Review of the Immediate Impact
Benfante, A., Di Tella, M., Romeo, A., & Castelli, L. (2020) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.569935 · Cited by 237 · see citing works
Cilia, R., Bonvegna, S., Straccia, G., Andreasi, N. G., Elia, A. E., Romito, L. M., Devigili, G., Cereda, E., & Eleopra, R. (2020) · Movement Disorders · doi:10.1002/mds.28170 · Cited by 185 · see citing works
- Authors
- Lechien, J. R., Chiesa‐Estomba, C. M., Place, S., Van Laethem, Y., Cabaraux, P., Mat, Q., Huet, K., Plzak, J., Horoi, M., Hans, S., Rosaria Barillari, M., Cammaroto, G., Fakhry, N., Martiny, D., Ayad, T., Jouffe, L., Hopkins, C., Saussez, S., & COVID‐19 Task Force of YO‐IFOS
- Affiliations
- University of Mons (BE)
- From COVID‐19 Task Force of the Young‐Otolaryngologists of the International Federations of Oto‐rhino‐laryngological Societies (YO‐IFOS) Paris France
- Epicura (BE)
- Department of Internal Medicine, Infectiology CHU Saint‐Pierre Brussels Belgium
- HUmani - CHU Charleroi-Chimay (BE)
- Department of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery 1st Faculty of Medicine University Hospital Motol Prague Czech Republic
- Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (FR)
- Ospedale G.B. Morgagni - L.Pierantoni (IT)
- Aix-Marseille Université (FR)
- Centre Hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal (CA)
- Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Lechien, Jerome R.
- ORCID
- Venue
- Journal of Internal Medicine
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2020-06-17
- Volume
- 288
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 335-344
- ISSN
- 0954-6820 (ISSN-L)
- 1365-2796
- PMC
- PMC7267446
- OpenAlex
- W3022531685
- Cited by
- 800
- References
- 20
- Citations by year
- 2026: 14 · 2025: 25 · 2024: 47 · 2023: 78 · 2022: 154 · 2021: 296 · 2020: 185
- FWCI
- 23.26
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Journal of Internal Medicine (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Archivio Istituzionale della Ricerca (Universita Degli Studi Di Milano) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- ORBi UMONS (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- HAL (submittedVersion)
- HAL AMU (submittedVersion)
- Archivio istituzionale della ricerca (Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Florence Research (University of Florence) (submittedVersion)
- Archivio Istituzionale della Ricerca - Università degli Studi della Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli" (submittedVersion)
- Oskar-Bordeaux (Universite de Bordeaux) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Infectious Diseases › COVID-19 Clinical Research Studies
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Neurology › Long-Term Effects of COVID-19
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Infectious Diseases › SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 Research
- Keywords
- COVID-19 pandemic, SARS-CoV-2, mild to moderate COVID-19, clinical features, epidemiological characteristics, olfactory dysfunction, anosmia, headache, nasal obstruction, rhinorrhea, fever, symptom duration, age and sex differences, healthcare workers
- MeSH terms
- Betacoronavirus, COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, Adult, Age Factors, Olfaction Disorders, Bayes Theorem, Europe, Female, Headache, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Pneumonia, Viral, Sex Factors, Taste Disorders, Prevalence, Coronavirus Infections, Pandemics, Symptom Assessment, Myalgia
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
