Predictive value of clinical symptoms for COVID-19 diagnosis in young adults

Assessment of predictive values of clinical symptoms for COVID-19 diagnosis in young adults. Nonresidential university students (ages 18-25) participating in surveillance testing and mandatory symptom survey between 9/9/2020 and 11/25/2020. Retrospective study of test results and symptom survey data...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of American college health 2024-05, Vol.72 (4), p.1006-1009
Main Authors: Kunkel, Deborah, Stuenkel, Mackenzie, Sivaraj, Laksika B, Colenda, Christopher C, Pekarek, Lesslie, Rennert, Lior
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Clinical assessment
College students
COVID-19
COVID-19 - diagnosis
COVID-19 - epidemiology
COVID-19 Testing - methods
COVID-19 Testing - statistics & numerical data
Female
Higher education
Humans
Male
Medical diagnosis
Polls & surveys
Predictive Value of Tests
Public health
Retrospective Studies
SARS-CoV-2
Students - statistics & numerical data
Surveillance
Symptoms
Test Results
Tests
Universities - statistics & numerical data
Young Adult
Young adults
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Summary:Assessment of predictive values of clinical symptoms for COVID-19 diagnosis in young adults. Nonresidential university students (ages 18-25) participating in surveillance testing and mandatory symptom survey between 9/9/2020 and 11/25/2020. Retrospective study of test results and symptom survey data. Among 6,489 individuals, 288 (4.4%) tested positive for COVID-19, 90 (31.3%) of whom reported symptoms. COVID-19 prevalence among individuals reporting and not reporting symptoms was 17.2% and 3.3%, respectively. The four symptoms with highest positive predictive values (PPVs) were smell/taste loss (PPV = 38.5%), chills (PPV = 31.5%), muscle/joint pain (PPV = 26.0%), and fever (PPV = 25.9%). Institutions should emphasize COVID-19 risk for highly predictive symptoms in public health messaging to inform individuals on when to seek testing or self-isolation. However, low COVID-19 diagnostic accuracy of clinical symptoms and the high pre-symptomatic/asymptomatic rate (69%) highlight the limitations of voluntary testing strategies employed by higher education institutions during the original strain of SARS-CoV-2.
ISSN:0744-8481
1940-3208
DOI:10.1080/07448481.2022.2068963