TABLE 1.
Frequency and duration of reported symptoms experienced during acute illness among laboratory‐confirmed COVID‐19 cases compared with controls who tested negative for SARS‐CoV‐2 infection, July 2020
| Symptom a | Cases (SARS‐CoV‐2 positive), N = 157 | Controls (SARS‐CoV‐2 negative), N = 163 | P‐value b | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. responses (%) | No. days, median (IQR) | No. responses (%) | No. days, median (IQR) | ||
| Days of illness | 121 (77%) | 12 (8‐15) | 138 (85%) | 6 (4‐9) | <.01 |
| Loss of taste or smell | 98 (63%) | 7 (4‐14) | 9 (6%) | 5 (3‐9) | .30 |
| Body aches/weakness/fatigue | 121 (78%) | 10 (5‐16) | 91 (56%) | 5 (3‐10) | <.01 |
| Fever (>100.4 Fahrenheit) | 69 (45%) | 3 (2‐5) | 33 (20%) | 2 (1‐4) | .16 |
| Any cough | 102 (65%) | 7 (4‐14) | 72 (44%) | 6 (2‐8) | .11 |
| Diarrhea | 69 (44%) | 4 (2‐7) | 42 (26%) | 3 (2‐5) | .30 |
| Nausea/vomiting/loss of appetite | 88 (56%) | 5 (3‐10) | 61 (38%) | 3 (2‐5) | <.01 |
| Shortness of breath | 57 (37%) | 7 (5‐14) | 41 (25%) | 4 (3‐8) | .01 |
| Felt feverish/chills | 81 (53%) | 3 (2‐5) | 61 (38%) | 3 (2‐5) | .84 |
| Chest pain | 37 (24%) | 2 (1‐5) | 24 (15%) | 2 (1‐4) | .45 |
| Abdominal pain | 26 (17%) | 3 (1‐5) | 29 (18%) | 4 (2‐5) | .43 |
| Runny nose/congestion/sore throat | 98 (62%) | 6 (3‐10) | 117 (72%) | 5 (3‐8) | .61 |
Participants who reported experiencing symptom during illness were asked to recall symptom duration, in days. Responses were missing or unknown for reported loss of taste or smell (n = 3), body aches/weakness/fatigue (n = 3), fever (n = 5), diarrhea (n = 1), nausea/vomiting/loss of appetite (n = 2), shortness of breath (n = 1), chills (n = 4), abdominal pain (n = 1), and runny nose (n = 1). Symptom duration was missing or unknown for reported loss of taste or smell (n = 1), body aches/weakness/fatigue (n = 2), cough (n = 5), diarrhea (n = 2), nausea/vomiting/loss of appetite (n = 3), shortness of breath (n = 1), chills (n = 2), abdominal pain (n = 2), chest pain (n = 4), and runny nose (n = 5).
P‐value from Wilcoxon rank‐sum test for difference in number of days of symptoms reported among COVID‐19 cases and controls.