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Estimating the efficacy of symptom-based screening for COVID-19.

Alison CallahanEthan H SteinbergJason A FriesSaurabh GombarBirju S PatelConor K CorbinNigam H Shah
Published in: NPJ digital medicine (2020)
There is substantial interest in using presenting symptoms to prioritize testing for COVID-19 and establish symptom-based surveillance. However, little is currently known about the specificity of COVID-19 symptoms. To assess the feasibility of symptom-based screening for COVID-19, we used data from tests for common respiratory viruses and SARS-CoV-2 in our health system to measure the ability to correctly classify virus test results based on presenting symptoms. Based on these results, symptom-based screening may not be an effective strategy to identify individuals who should be tested for SARS-CoV-2 infection or to obtain a leading indicator of new COVID-19 cases.
Keyphrases
  • sars cov
  • coronavirus disease
  • respiratory syndrome coronavirus
  • public health
  • sleep quality
  • patient reported
  • case report
  • machine learning
  • big data
  • depressive symptoms