A Prediction Model to Prioritize Individuals for a SARS-CoV-2 Test Built from National Symptom Surveys.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The gold standard for COVID-19 diagnosis is detection of viral RNA through PCR. Due to global limitations in testing capacity, effective prioritization of individuals for testing is essential.

Methods

We devised a model estimating the probability of an individual to test positive for COVID-19 based on answers to 9 simple questions that have been associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Our model was devised from a subsample of a national symptom survey that was answered over 2 million times in Israel in its first 2 months and a targeted survey distributed to all residents of several cities in Israel. Overall, 43,752 adults were included, from which 498 self-reported as being COVID-19 positive.

Findings

Our model was validated on a held-out set of individuals f

SUBMITTER: Shoer S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7547576 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature