New study predicts who will get severe lung problems
1. increase in ALT enzyme
2. deep muscle aches
3. higher levels of hemoglobin
A new study from researchers at New York University used predictive analytics to determine the early signs of severe lung disease among COVID-19 patients. The researchers determined that three symptoms, taken together, were strong predictors of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), a life-threatening lung injury that might require a patient to be intubated.
The first factor was a slight increase in ALT, a enzyme that can signal the presence of liver damage or inflammation. The second was deep muscle aches — known clinically as "myalgia." The third factor was higher levels of hemoglobin, a protein that transports oxygen through the blood.
"Our hope is to assist doctors in that first stage to be able to identify who may become sick of the many mild cases," Megan Coffee, an infectious disease clinician and lead author of the study, told Business Insider.
The study analyzed records from 53 hospitalized patients in Wenzhou, China. Most of the patients were in their thirties or forties and nearly two-thirds were men.
While typical symptoms of COVID-19 include a fever, dry cough, and difficulty breathing, body aches are the next most common symptom, according to the World Health Organization. The agency reported in February that 14% of coronavirus patients experience body aches or joint pain.
As a clinician, Coffee said she's now paying more attention to patients who show these symptoms — but all three must be present for someone to have an early risk of severe lung disease.
Flagging severe cases could lower emergency visits
On their own, the three mild symptoms don't normally set off alarm bells for clinicians, Coffee said.
"Body aches wouldn't be the first thing that I would ask about," she said. "I would of course always ask about shortness of breath before anything because that's somebody who has to be immediately helped."
But determining whether a patient is likely to get worse could help hospitals decide which cases to monitor.
1. increase in ALT enzyme
2. deep muscle aches
3. higher levels of hemoglobin
A new study from researchers at New York University used predictive analytics to determine the early signs of severe lung disease among COVID-19 patients. The researchers determined that three symptoms, taken together, were strong predictors of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), a life-threatening lung injury that might require a patient to be intubated.
The first factor was a slight increase in ALT, a enzyme that can signal the presence of liver damage or inflammation. The second was deep muscle aches — known clinically as "myalgia." The third factor was higher levels of hemoglobin, a protein that transports oxygen through the blood.
"Our hope is to assist doctors in that first stage to be able to identify who may become sick of the many mild cases," Megan Coffee, an infectious disease clinician and lead author of the study, told Business Insider.
The study analyzed records from 53 hospitalized patients in Wenzhou, China. Most of the patients were in their thirties or forties and nearly two-thirds were men.
While typical symptoms of COVID-19 include a fever, dry cough, and difficulty breathing, body aches are the next most common symptom, according to the World Health Organization. The agency reported in February that 14% of coronavirus patients experience body aches or joint pain.
As a clinician, Coffee said she's now paying more attention to patients who show these symptoms — but all three must be present for someone to have an early risk of severe lung disease.
Flagging severe cases could lower emergency visits
On their own, the three mild symptoms don't normally set off alarm bells for clinicians, Coffee said.
"Body aches wouldn't be the first thing that I would ask about," she said. "I would of course always ask about shortness of breath before anything because that's somebody who has to be immediately helped."
But determining whether a patient is likely to get worse could help hospitals decide which cases to monitor.
