Day-by-day symptoms following positive and negative PCR tests for SARS-CoV-2 in non-hospitalized healthcare workers: A 90-day follow-up study

Abstract

Objective We aimed to compare symptoms day by day for non-hospitalised individuals tested positive and negative for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Methods We followed 210 test-positive and 630 test-negative health-care workers of the Central Denmark Region up to 90 days after the test, April-June 2020. They daily reported COVID-19 related symptoms that were compared graphically and by logistic regression. Results Thirty % of test-positive and close to zero of test-negative participants reported reduced sense of taste and smell during all 90 days (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 86.07, 95% CI 22.86-323). Dyspnoea was reported by an initial 20% of test-positive declining to 5% after 30 days without ever reaching the level of the test-negative participants (aOR 6.88, 95% CI 2.41-19.63). Cough, headache, sore throat, muscle pain, and fever were temporarily more prevalent among the test positive participants; after 30 days, no increases were seen. Women and older participants were more susceptible to COVID-19 symptoms. Conclusion Prevalence of long-lasting reduced sense of taste and smell is highly increased in mild COVID-19 patients. This pattern is also seen for dyspnoea at a low level but not for cough, sore throat, headache, muscle pain, or fever.

Long-Term Effects of COVID-19 on Workers in Health and Social Services in Germany

“…In our study, we found a higher risk of post-COVID for women. This was also seen in other studies [ 24 , 27 ]. However, men are underrepresented in our study, so no generalised conclusion can be drawn.…”

“…In a study of staff of various healthcare facilities in Denmark, the most common symptoms lasting longer than 3 months were dyspnoea, loss of taste/smell, muscle/joint pain and fatigue [ 26 ]. A high prevalence of symptoms lasting up to 90 days among non-hospitalised hospital staff was mainly found for taste and smell disturbances, and a slightly lower prevalence was found for dyspnoea compared with staff who were PCR-negative [ 27 ].…”

“…Risk factors for long-lasting symptoms have mainly been described as female gender, age, high BMI, the severity of acute infection, number of acute symptoms, and various physical or mental pre-existing conditions [ 12 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 ]. Among health workers, older age; female gender; and in particular, pre-existing lung conditions, depression or level of exhaustion have also been identified as influencing factors [ 24 , 27 ]. In our study, age over 50 years, female gender, pre-existing illnesses and acute symptoms were also found to be correlated with longer persisting symptoms.…”

Lung function during and after acute respiratory infection in COVID-19 positive and negative outpatients

“…COVID-19 patients were more symptomatic than the controls at the acute phase, with the greatest differences being a decreased sense of taste and/or smell, and fatigue, which align with previous results [ 13 , 14 ]. Both groups had very low levels of symptoms at control visit and there was no difference between the groups suggesting that long-lasting sequelae are not frequent in subjects with mild COVID treated as outpatients.…”

Healthcare workers’ SARS-CoV-2 infection rates during the second wave of the pandemic: prospective follow-up study

“…During Spring 2020, persistent loss of taste and smell was in this population strongly associated with a positive PCR test for SARS-CoV-2 with an odds ratio of 57.16 (95% CI 16.71 to 195), corresponding with a specificity of 98% and a positive predictive value of 84%. 14…”