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. 2022 Apr;191(2):543-546.
doi: 10.1007/s11845-021-02598-z. Epub 2021 Mar 25.

An analysis of patient self-reported COVID-19 symptoms during the first wave of the pandemic in Ireland

Claire Gibbons  1 , Mouzzam Hussain  2 , Derek T O'Keeffe  3 , Andrew J Simpkin  3
Affiliations

An analysis of patient self-reported COVID-19 symptoms during the first wave of the pandemic in Ireland

Claire Gibbons et al. Ir J Med Sci. 2022 Apr.

Abstract

Background: Since the outbreak of COVID-19 in December 2019, there have been more than 115 million cases worldwide (1). Symptoms of COVID-19 vary widely and the spectrum of clinical presentation has yet to be fully characterised (2). Many countries have detailed their early experience with COVID-19, with a focus on the clinical characteristics of the disease. However, to our knowledge, there has been no such study detailing symptoms in the Irish population.

Aim: Our aim is to describe COVID-19 symptoms in the Irish population at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and compare symptoms between those reporting positive and negative test results.

Method: A Web page MyCovidSymptoms.ie was created by researchers at the National University of Ireland, Galway, in April 2020 to investigate COVID-19 symptoms in Ireland. The Web page invited participants to self-report RT-PCR test outcome data (positive, negative, untested), temperature and a range of symptoms (cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, loss of taste, loss of smell).

Results: One hundred and twenty-three Irish participants who had a RT-PCR test for COVID-19 logged their symptoms. Eighty-four patients reported that they tested positive for COVID-19, and 39 patients reported a negative COVID-19 test. In our cohort of respondents with a positive COVID-19 test, 49/84 (58%) respondents reported a cough. Of the 39 respondents with a negative COVID-19 test, 17 (44%) reported having a cough. The distribution of temperature was similar in both those with and without COVID-19. Levels of self-reported fatigue were high in both groups with 65/84 (77%) of COVID-19-positive patients reporting fatigue and 30/39 (77%) of those who were COVID-19-negative reporting fatigue. New symptoms emerging at the time of data collection included loss of taste and smell. We demonstrated a higher proportion of loss of smell (p = 0.02) and taste (p = 0.01) in those reporting a positive result, compared to those reporting a negative result.

Conclusion: These data represents an early picture of the clinical characteristics of COVID-19 in an Irish population. It also highlights the potential use of self-reported data globally as a powerful tool in helping with the pandemic.

Keywords: COVID-19; Clinical characteristics; Digital Health; Innovation; Symptoms.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Boxplot of temperature among COVID-19-positive and COVID-19-negative respondents
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Self-reported cough in respondents with a positive and negative COVID-19 test
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Self-reported shortness of breath in respondents with a positive and negative COVID-19 test
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Self-reported fatigue in respondents with a positive and negative COVID-19 test
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Self-reported loss of taste and smell in respondents with a positive and negative COVID-19 test
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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