New study adds to COVID-19 symptom list

Last Updated: 2020-11-09

By Reuters Staff

(Reuters) - Fever, coughing, and shortness of breath are known symptoms of COVID-19, but other warning signs can include weakness, poor blood sugar control and gastrointestinal complaints, according to a new study.

As reported in the American Journal of Emergency Medicine, researchers analyzed nearly 12,000 visits by adult patients to emergency departments at five New York City hospitals. They found COVID-19 in 57.5% of patients who went to the hospital because of weakness, falls, or altered mental status, in 55.5% of those who came in because their blood sugar was out of control, and in 51.4% of patients whose chief complaint was a gastrointestinal problem.

Patients over the age of 65 tended to have more atypical complaints such as diarrhea, fatigue and weakness. Patients with dehydration, altered mental status, falls and high blood sugar were at higher risk for death in the study.

The new findings can help hospitals provide better care and are "also important for family members and people that work with the elderly to better identify possible warning signs of COVID-19 infection," coauthor Dr. Christopher Clifford of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai told Reuters.

SOURCE: https://bit.ly/3pcqjnp American Journal of Emergency Medicine, online November 7, 2020.