Optimal symptom combinations to aid COVID-19 case identification: Analysis from a community-based, prospective, observational cohort.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

Diagnostic work-up following any COVID-19 associated symptom will lead to extensive testing, potentially overwhelming laboratory capacity whilst primarily yielding negative results. We aimed to identify optimal symptom combinations to capture most cases using fewer tests with implications for COVID-19 vaccine developers across different resource settings and public health.

Methods

UK and US users of the COVID-19 Symptom Study app who reported new-onset symptoms and an RT-PCR test within seven days of symptom onset were included. Sensitivity, specificity, and number of RT-PCR tests needed to identify one case (test per case [TPC]) were calculated for different symptom combinations. A multi-objective evolutionary algorithm was applied to generate combinations with o

SUBMITTER: Antonelli M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7881291 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature