TY - JOUR T1 - Anosmia and Ageusia as Predictive Signs of COVID-19 in Healthcare Workers in Italy: A Prospective Case-Control Study. AU - La Torre,Giuseppe, AU - Massetti,Anna Paola, AU - Antonelli,Guido, AU - Fimiani,Caterina, AU - Fantini,Mauro, AU - Marte,Mattia, AU - Faticoni,Augusto, AU - Previte,Carlo Maria, AU - Turriziani,Ombretta, AU - Pugliese,Francesco, AU - Villari,Paolo, AU - Romano,Ferdinando, AU - Mastroianni,Claudio Maria, AU - Covid-Sapienza Collaborative Group,, Y1 - 2020/09/04/ PY - 2020/07/28/received PY - 2020/08/21/revised PY - 2020/08/31/accepted PY - 2020/9/9/entrez PY - 2020/9/10/pubmed PY - 2020/9/10/medline KW - COVID-19 KW - Italy KW - SARS-CoV-2 KW - ageusia KW - anosmia KW - healthcare workers KW - signs KW - symptoms JF - Journal of clinical medicine JO - J Clin Med VL - 9 IS - 9 N2 - BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to investigate the diagnostic accuracy of symptoms and signs in healthcare workers (HCW) with Sars-CoV-2. METHODS: This was a case-control study. Cases consisted of symptomatic healthcare workers who had a positive SARS-CoV-2 real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test, while controls were symptomatic healthcare workers with a negative RT-PCR test. For each symptom, ROCs were plotted. Diagnostic accuracy was calculated using the sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values. A logistic regression analysis was carried out for calculating the OR (95% CI) for each symptom associated to the SARS-CoV-2 positivity. RESULTS: We recruited 30 cases and 75 controls. Fever had the best sensitivity while dyspnea, anosmia, and ageusia had the highest specificity. The highest PPVs were found again for dyspnea (75%), anosmia (73.7%), and ageusia (66.7%). Lastly, the highest NPVs were related to anosmia (81.4%) and ageusia (79.3%). Anosmia (OR = 14.75; 95% CI: 4.27-50.87), ageusia (OR = 9.18; 95% CI: 2.80-30.15), and headache (OR = 3.92; 95% CI: 1.45-10.56) are significantly associated to SARS-CoV-2 positivity. CONCLUSIONS: Anosmia and ageusia should be considered in addition to the well-established fever, cough, and dyspnea. In a resource-limited setting, this method could save time and money. SN - 2077-0383 UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/32899778/Anosmia_and_Ageusia_as_Predictive_Signs_of_COVID_19_in_Healthcare_Workers_in_Italy:_A_Prospective_Case_Control_Study_ L2 - https://www.mdpi.com/resolver?pii=jcm9092870 DB - PRIME DP - Unbound Medicine ER -