Population-Based COVID-19 Screening in Mexico: Assessment of Symptoms and Their Weighting in Predicting SARS-CoV-2 Infection
<i>Background and Objectives</i>: Sentinel surveillance in the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico represented a significant cost reduction and was useful in estimating the population infected with SARS-CoV-2. However, it also implied that many patients were not screened and t...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-04-01
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| Series: | Medicina |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1648-9144/57/4/363 |
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| author | Margarita L Martinez-Fierro Martha Diaz-Lozano Claudia Alvarez-Zuñiga Leticia A Ramirez-Hernandez Roxana Araujo-Espino Perla M Trejo-Ortiz Fabiana E Mollinedo-Montaño Yolanda Ortiz-Castro Sodel Vazquez-Reyes Perla Velasco-Elizondo Lidia Garcia-Esquivel Arturo Araujo-Conejo Idalia Garza-Veloz |
| author_facet | Margarita L Martinez-Fierro Martha Diaz-Lozano Claudia Alvarez-Zuñiga Leticia A Ramirez-Hernandez Roxana Araujo-Espino Perla M Trejo-Ortiz Fabiana E Mollinedo-Montaño Yolanda Ortiz-Castro Sodel Vazquez-Reyes Perla Velasco-Elizondo Lidia Garcia-Esquivel Arturo Araujo-Conejo Idalia Garza-Veloz |
| author_sort | Margarita L Martinez-Fierro |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <i>Background and Objectives</i>: Sentinel surveillance in the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico represented a significant cost reduction and was useful in estimating the population infected with SARS-CoV-2. However, it also implied that many patients were not screened and therefore had no accurate diagnosis. In this study, we carried out a population-based SARS-CoV-2 screening in Mexico to evaluate the COVID-19-related symptoms and their weighting in predicting SARS-CoV-2 infection. We also discuss this data in the context of the operational definition of suspected cases of COVID-19 established by the Mexican Health Authority’s consensus. <i>Materials and Methods</i>: One thousand two hundred seventy-nine subjects were included. They were screened for SARS-CoV-2 using RT-PCR. The weighting of COVID-19 symptoms in predicting SARS-CoV-2 infection was evaluated statistically. <i>Results</i>: Three hundred and twenty-five patients were positive for SARS-CoV-2 and 954 were negative. Fever, asthenia, dysgeusia, and oxygen saturation predicted SARS-CoV-2 infection (odds ratios ranged from 1.74 to 4.98; <i>p</i> < 0.05). The percentage of asymptomatic COVID-19 patients was 36% and only 38.15% met the Mexican operational definition. Cq-values for the gene N of SARS-CoV-2 were significantly higher in asymptomatic subjects than in the groups of COVID-19 patients with neurological, respiratory, and/or musculoskeletal manifestations (<i>p</i> < 0.05). <i>Conclusions</i>: Dysgeusia, fever, and asthenia increased the odds of a positive result for COVID-19 1.74–4.98-fold among the study population. Patients with neurological, respiratory, and/or musculoskeletal manifestations had higher viral loads at COVID-19 diagnosis than those observed in asymptomatic patients. A high percentage of the participants in the study (61.85%) did not meet the operational definition for a suspected case of COVID-19 established by the Mexican Health Authority’s consensus, representing a high percentage of the population that could have remained without a COVID-19 diagnosis, so becoming a potential source of virus spread. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T12:31:24Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-efcae4ed296e4044b2ee864a02700a10 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1010-660X 1648-9144 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T12:31:24Z |
| publishDate | 2021-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| series | Medicina |
| spelling | doaj.art-efcae4ed296e4044b2ee864a02700a102023-11-21T14:41:24ZengMDPI AGMedicina1010-660X1648-91442021-04-0157436310.3390/medicina57040363Population-Based COVID-19 Screening in Mexico: Assessment of Symptoms and Their Weighting in Predicting SARS-CoV-2 InfectionMargarita L Martinez-Fierro0Martha Diaz-Lozano1Claudia Alvarez-Zuñiga2Leticia A Ramirez-Hernandez3Roxana Araujo-Espino4Perla M Trejo-Ortiz5Fabiana E Mollinedo-Montaño6Yolanda Ortiz-Castro7Sodel Vazquez-Reyes8Perla Velasco-Elizondo9Lidia Garcia-Esquivel10Arturo Araujo-Conejo11Idalia Garza-Veloz12Molecular Medicine Laboratory, Unidad Academica de Medicina Humana y C.S, Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas, Zacatecas 98160, MexicoMolecular Medicine Laboratory, Unidad Academica de Medicina Humana y C.S, Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas, Zacatecas 98160, MexicoMolecular Medicine Laboratory, Unidad Academica de Medicina Humana y C.S, Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas, Zacatecas 98160, MexicoUnidad Academica de Matematicas, Universidad Autonoma de Zacatecas, Zacatecas 98160, MexicoUnidad Academica de Enfermería, Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas, Zacatecas 98160, MexicoUnidad Academica de Enfermería, Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas, Zacatecas 98160, MexicoUnidad Academica de Enfermería, Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas, Zacatecas 98160, MexicoMolecular Medicine Laboratory, Unidad Academica de Medicina Humana y C.S, Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas, Zacatecas 98160, MexicoUnidad Academica de Ingenieria Eléctrica, Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas, Zacatecas 98160, MexicoUnidad Academica de Ingenieria Eléctrica, Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas, Zacatecas 98160, MexicoClinica Universitaria, Unidad Academica de Medicina Humana y C.S, Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas, Zacatecas 98160, MexicoHospital General Zacatecas “Luz González Cosío”, Servicios de Salud de Zacatecas, Zacatecas 98160, MexicoMolecular Medicine Laboratory, Unidad Academica de Medicina Humana y C.S, Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas, Zacatecas 98160, Mexico<i>Background and Objectives</i>: Sentinel surveillance in the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico represented a significant cost reduction and was useful in estimating the population infected with SARS-CoV-2. However, it also implied that many patients were not screened and therefore had no accurate diagnosis. In this study, we carried out a population-based SARS-CoV-2 screening in Mexico to evaluate the COVID-19-related symptoms and their weighting in predicting SARS-CoV-2 infection. We also discuss this data in the context of the operational definition of suspected cases of COVID-19 established by the Mexican Health Authority’s consensus. <i>Materials and Methods</i>: One thousand two hundred seventy-nine subjects were included. They were screened for SARS-CoV-2 using RT-PCR. The weighting of COVID-19 symptoms in predicting SARS-CoV-2 infection was evaluated statistically. <i>Results</i>: Three hundred and twenty-five patients were positive for SARS-CoV-2 and 954 were negative. Fever, asthenia, dysgeusia, and oxygen saturation predicted SARS-CoV-2 infection (odds ratios ranged from 1.74 to 4.98; <i>p</i> < 0.05). The percentage of asymptomatic COVID-19 patients was 36% and only 38.15% met the Mexican operational definition. Cq-values for the gene N of SARS-CoV-2 were significantly higher in asymptomatic subjects than in the groups of COVID-19 patients with neurological, respiratory, and/or musculoskeletal manifestations (<i>p</i> < 0.05). <i>Conclusions</i>: Dysgeusia, fever, and asthenia increased the odds of a positive result for COVID-19 1.74–4.98-fold among the study population. Patients with neurological, respiratory, and/or musculoskeletal manifestations had higher viral loads at COVID-19 diagnosis than those observed in asymptomatic patients. A high percentage of the participants in the study (61.85%) did not meet the operational definition for a suspected case of COVID-19 established by the Mexican Health Authority’s consensus, representing a high percentage of the population that could have remained without a COVID-19 diagnosis, so becoming a potential source of virus spread.https://www.mdpi.com/1648-9144/57/4/363SARS-CoV-2COVID-19symptoms |
| spellingShingle | Margarita L Martinez-Fierro Martha Diaz-Lozano Claudia Alvarez-Zuñiga Leticia A Ramirez-Hernandez Roxana Araujo-Espino Perla M Trejo-Ortiz Fabiana E Mollinedo-Montaño Yolanda Ortiz-Castro Sodel Vazquez-Reyes Perla Velasco-Elizondo Lidia Garcia-Esquivel Arturo Araujo-Conejo Idalia Garza-Veloz Population-Based COVID-19 Screening in Mexico: Assessment of Symptoms and Their Weighting in Predicting SARS-CoV-2 Infection Medicina SARS-CoV-2 COVID-19 symptoms |
| title | Population-Based COVID-19 Screening in Mexico: Assessment of Symptoms and Their Weighting in Predicting SARS-CoV-2 Infection |
| title_full | Population-Based COVID-19 Screening in Mexico: Assessment of Symptoms and Their Weighting in Predicting SARS-CoV-2 Infection |
| title_fullStr | Population-Based COVID-19 Screening in Mexico: Assessment of Symptoms and Their Weighting in Predicting SARS-CoV-2 Infection |
| title_full_unstemmed | Population-Based COVID-19 Screening in Mexico: Assessment of Symptoms and Their Weighting in Predicting SARS-CoV-2 Infection |
| title_short | Population-Based COVID-19 Screening in Mexico: Assessment of Symptoms and Their Weighting in Predicting SARS-CoV-2 Infection |
| title_sort | population based covid 19 screening in mexico assessment of symptoms and their weighting in predicting sars cov 2 infection |
| topic | SARS-CoV-2 COVID-19 symptoms |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1648-9144/57/4/363 |
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