Skip directly to site content Skip directly to page options Skip directly to A-Z link Skip directly to A-Z link Skip directly to A-Z link
Volume 27, Number 2—February 2021
Synopsis

Symptom Profiles and Progression in Hospitalized and Nonhospitalized Patients with Coronavirus Disease, Colorado, USA, 2020

Grace M. Vahey1Comments to Author , Kristen E. Marshall1, Emily McDonald, Stacey W. Martin, Jacqueline E. Tate, Claire M. Midgley, Marie E. Killerby, Breanna Kawasaki, Rachel K. Herlihy, Nisha B. Alden, J. Erin Staples, and on behalf of the Colorado Investigation Team2
Author affiliations: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA (G.M. Vahey, E. McDonald, S.W. Martin, J.E. Staples); Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA (K.E. Marshall, J.E. Tate, C.M. Midgley, M.E. Killerby); Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Denver, Colorado, USA (K.E. Marshall, B. Kawasaki, R.K. Herlihy, N.B. Alden)

Main Article

Table 2

Frequency and duration of symptoms reported by 364 hospitalized and nonhospitalized patients with laboratory-confirmed coronavirus disease, Colorado, USA, March 2020*

Symptoms Hospitalized, n = 128
Nonhospitalized, n = 236
Crude OR 
(95% CI) p value
No. (%) Median symptom duration (IQR) No. (%) Median symptom duration (IQR)
Symptom groups
Any general symptom† 122 (95) NC 234 (99) NC NC NC
Any LRI symptom‡ 116 (91) NC 213 (90) NC NC NC
Any cognitive or perception 
symptom§ 87 (68) NC 165 (70) NC NC NC
Any URI symptom¶ 60 (47) NC 158 (67) NC NC NC
Any GI symptom#
74 (58)
NC

136 (58)
NC
NC
NC
Individual symptoms
Fever** 108 (84) ** 196 (83) ** 1.10 (0.61–2.01) 0.74
Fatigue 106 (83) 14 (9–27) 213 (90) 12 (7–15) 0.52 (0.28–0.98) 0.04
Any cough†† 93 (73) NC 196 (83) NC NC NC
Dry cough 79 (62) 10 (7–22) 175 (74) 10 (5–18) 0.56 (0.35–0.89) 0.01
Chills 84 (66) 7 (3–10) 169 (72) 3 (2–7) 0.76 (0.48–1.20) 0.24
Myalgia 72 (56) 11 (7–15) 175 (74) 5 (3–9) 0.45 (0.28–0.71) <0.01
Anorexia 89 (70) 12 (7–17) 150 (64) 7 (4–11) 1.31 (0.83–2.09) 0.25
Dyspnea 92 (72) 10 (5–19) 144 (61) 10 (6–14) 1.63 (1.03–2.62) 0.04
Headache 66 (52) 8 (4–14) 166 (70) 7 (3–14) 0.45 (0.29–0.70) <0.01
Ageusia 63 (49) 14 (8–21) 149 (63) 10 (7–20) 0.57 (0.37–0.87) 0.01
Sweats 70 (55) 7 (3–10) 134 (57) 3 (2–7) 0.92 (0.60–1.42) 0.70
Anosmia 45 (35) 14 (7–24) 131 (56) 10 (7–21) 0.43 (0.28–0.67) <0.01
Diarrhea 60 (47) 7 (3–13) 104 (44) 3 (2–6) 1.12 (0.73–1.73) 0.61
Arthralgia 45 (35) 13 (7–17) 100 (42) 5 (4–10) 0.74 (0.47–1.15) 0.18
Dehydration 54 (42) 10 (4–14) 76 (32) 5 (3–10) 1.54 (0.98–2.40) 0.06
Chest pain 42 (33) 10 (5–16) 85 (36) 7 (4–14) 0.87 (0.55–1.36) 0.54
Rhinorrhea 31 (24) 7 (3–12) 97 (41) 7 (4–14) 0.46 (0.28–0.73) <0.01
Sore throat 28 (22) 8 (4–15) 91 (39) 4 (2–7) 0.45 (0.27–0.72) <0.01
Nasal congestion 28 (22) 7 (3–14) 86 (36) 7 (5–14) 0.49 (0.29–0.79) <0.01
Nausea 41 (32) 7 (3–12) 69 (29) 4 (2–7) 1.14 (0.71–1.81) 0.58
Wheezing 44 (34) 12 (5–16) 54 (23) 9 (6–14) 1.77 (1.10–2.84) 0.02
Productive cough 37 (29) 10 (7–28) 58 (25) 10 (5–16) 1.25 (0.77–2.02) 0.37
Altered mental status 39 (30) 7 (3–16) 39 (17) 6 (3–12) 2.21 (1.33–3.69) <0.01
Abdominal pain 18 (14) 9 (7–20) 49 (21) 3 (2–5) 0.62 (0.34–1.11) 0.12
Conjunctivitis 16 (13) 7 (3–12) 36 (15) 5 (3–10) 0.79 (0.41–1.47) 0.47
Vomiting 24 (19) 4 (2–6) 24 (10) 2 (1–4) 2.04 (1.10–3.77) 0.02
Lymphadenopathy 7 (5) 7 (6–13) 37 (16) 6 (3–10) 0.31 (0.12–0.68) <0.01
Rash 9 (7) 4 (2–7) 24 (10) 5 (3–10) 0.67 (0.29–1.44) 0.32
Hemoptysis 8 (6) 7 (4–9) 7 (3) 3 (3–9) 2.18 (0.77–6.36) 0.14
Seizures 3 (2) 7 (4–10) 0 NC NC NC

*GI, gastrointestinal; IQR, interquartile range; LRI, lower respiratory tract infection; NC, not calculated; OR, odds ratio; URI, upper respiratory tract infection. 
†General symptoms included fever, chills, sweats, myalgia, headache, fatigue, arthralgia, dehydration, anorexia, and lymphadenopathy. 
‡ LRI symptoms included cough (dry and productive), dyspnea, wheezing, hemoptysis, and chest pain. 
§Cognition and perception symptoms included anosmia, ageusia, and altered mental status. 
¶URI symptoms included nasal congestion, rhinorrhea, and sore throat.
#GI symptoms included nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain.
**Fever was collected individually as subjective or measured. Values were combined given potential bias because hospitalized patients were more likely to have their temperature measured compared with nonhospitalized patients, who more commonly reported subjective fever only. The median duration of both subjective and measured fevers in nonhospitalized patients was 4 d (IQR 2–7 d). In hospitalized patients, the median duration of measured fever was 7 d [IQR 3–11 d] and subjective fever was 8 d (IQR 4–13 d).
††Any cough is a combination of dry cough, productive cough, and hemoptysis, which are also reported individually.

Main Article

1These authors contributed equally to this article.

2Members of the team are listed at the end of this article.

Page created: November 05, 2020
Page updated: January 23, 2021
Page reviewed: January 23, 2021
The conclusions, findings, and opinions expressed by authors contributing to this journal do not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Public Health Service, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the authors' affiliated institutions. Use of trade names is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by any of the groups named above.
file_external