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COVID-19 symptoms predictive of healthcare workers’ SARS-CoV-2 PCR results

Open access
Lan, Fan-Yun, Filler, Robert, Mathew, Soni, Buley, Jane, Iliaki, Eirini, Bruno-Murtha, Lou Ann, Osgood, Rebecca, Christophi, Costas A., Fernandez-Montero, Alejandro, Kales, Stefanos N.·2020·PLOS ONE

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus 2019 disease (COVID-19) is caused by the virus SARS-CoV-2, transmissible both person-to-person and from contaminated surfaces. Early COVID-19 detection among healthcare workers (HCWs) is crucial for protecting patients and the healthcare workforce. Because of limited testing capacity, symptom-based screening may prioritize testing and increase diagnostic accuracy. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We performed a retrospective study of HCWs undergoing both COVID-19 telephonic symptom screening and nasopharyngeal SARS-CoV-2 assays during the period, March 9-April 15, 2020. HCWs with negative assays but progressive symptoms were re-tested for SARS-CoV-2. Among 592 HCWs tested, 83 (14%) had an initial positive SARS-CoV-2 assay. Fifty-nine of 61 HCWs (97%) who were asymptomatic or reported only sore throat/nasal congestion had negative SARS-CoV-2 assays (P = 0.006). HCWs reporting three or more symptoms had an increased multivariate-adjusted odds of having positive assays, 1.95 (95% CI: 1.10-3.64), which increased to 2.61 (95% CI: 1.50-4.45) for six or more symptoms. The multivariate-adjusted odds of a positive assay were also increased for HCWs reporting fever and a measured temperature ≥ 37.5°C (3.49 (95% CI: 1.95-6.21)), and those with myalgias (1.83 (95% CI: 1.04-3.23)). Anosmia/ageusia (i.e. loss of smell/loss of taste) was reported less frequently (16%) than other symptoms by HCWs with positive assays, but was associated with more than a seven-fold multivariate-adjusted odds of a positive test: OR = 7.21 (95% CI: 2.95-17.67). Of 509 HCWs with initial negative SARS-CoV-2 assays, nine had symptom progression and positive re-tests, yielding an estimated negative predictive value of 98.2% (95% CI: 96.8-99.0%) for the exclusion of clinically relevant COVID-19. CONCLUSIONS: Symptom and temperature reports are useful screening tools for predicting SARS-CoV-2 assay results in HCWs. Anosmia/ageusia, fever, and myalgia were the strongest independent predictors of positive assays. The absence of symptoms or symptoms limited to nasal congestion/sore throat were associated with negative assays.

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Authors
Lan, F.-Y., Filler, R., Mathew, S., Buley, J., Iliaki, E., Bruno-Murtha, L. A., Osgood, R., Christophi, C. A., Fernandez-Montero, A., & Kales, S. N.
Venue
PLOS ONE
Published
2020-06-26
Volume
15
Issue
6
Pages
e0235460
ISSN
1932-6203 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W3033609484
Cited by
172
References
5
FWCI
4.77
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
gold

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CoChat. (2026). Citation check: COVID-19 symptoms predictive of healthcare workers’ SARS-CoV-2 PCR results. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.1371/journal.pone.0235460
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Lan, F.-Y., Filler, R., Mathew, S., Buley, J., Iliaki, E., Bruno-Murtha, L. A., Osgood, R., Christophi, C. A., Fernandez-Montero, A., & Kales, S. N. (2020). COVID-19 symptoms predictive of healthcare workers’ SARS-CoV-2 PCR results. PLOS ONE. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0235460

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