What is the difference between a symptom and a characteristic

Disease severity classification among patients and complications and treatment measures instituted before release from quarantine. These patients were more frequently treated with albumin and thymus peptide Table 2 and had longer hospital stays Table 3.

There was no significant improvement in granulocyte counts at the time of release from quarantine compared to the time of admission Table 4. Although the small number of cases included in this study affected the statistical analysis of some of the variables, many important characteristics were noted.

A majority of the 37 patients had mild and moderate disease, with only one severe case, and one critically ill case. All patients were finally released from quarantine without death, and the clinical outcome was significantly better than that observed in Hubei province 1 , 5 , 6 , The main reasons for this may be that the patients had relatively mild disease and that the availability of adequate medical facilities and personnel made the patients less likely to experience severe or critical conditions.

After hospitalization, all patients were stratified according to PSI, which may be a better strategy to improve the outcome of COVID patients, particularly in an outbreak when medical resources are relatively insufficient Although the proportion of patients with chronic underlying diseases in this group was According to the epidemiological histories, some of the patients in this study had been in direct contact with patients with confirmed disease.

Some worked at the same workplace and did not meet the conceptual standard of close contact, which suggested the existence of a transmission route of COVID via aerosol. Among these patients, asymptomatic patients constituted In some patients, a chest CT scan still revealed pneumonia and decreased white blood cell and lymphocyte counts. Among the first few symptoms recorded on admission, the rate of shortness of breath and gastrointestinal symptoms was high, which did not exclude the influence of psychological factors.

In addition, the proportion of patients with fever was not high, and the rate of fever was low. These characteristics were different from those of other highly infectious viral respiratory infections 14 , Among the variables assessed on routine blood biochemistry tests on admission, the most common was a reduction in the lymphocyte count.

White blood cell counts were mostly normal; less than a third of patients had lower white blood cell counts. Thus, a decrease in lymphocyte count may be the most important feature in routine biochemical tests 1 , 6. Changes in chest CT scans observed in this group were similar to those observed in other COVID studies and were significantly different from the characteristics of H1N1 pneumonia Treatment measures instituted among the patients in this group were mainly performed in accordance with the protocol 8 , 9.

Although the patients mainly had mild and moderate conditions, their treatment was complicated due to the particularity of the epidemic 17 , Two-thirds of the patients were given antibiotics, although there was not sufficient evidence of bacterial infection.

Although no specific antiviral drugs were recommended, the patients in this group were given antiviral drugs routinely; two-thirds were given two antiviral drugs, and one-third were given three antiviral drugs. The effects of thymosin, glucocorticoid, albumin, and immunoglobulin on COVID need to be investigated further, particularly in patients with mild and moderate disease.

Many studies have demonstrated the important role of TCM in inhibiting coronavirus 19 — Although the patients in this study mainly had mild and moderate disease, there were significant differences in the duration from symptom onset to release from quarantine. The most important basis for release from quarantine is the persistence of negative nucleic acid test results. Thus, the duration from symptom onset to release from quarantine reflects the time it takes for the virus to be released from the respiratory tract of the patient.

The average time from the onset of symptoms to release from quarantine was 20 days. Patients could only be released from quarantine after three consecutive negative nucleic acid test results, tests could be performed at h intervals, and the incubation period reported in previous literature was considered 1 ; thus, the average duration of virus release in this study should be similar to that reported by Zhou et al.

There were no differences in PSI score, underlying chronic disease, or epidemiological history on admission between the two groups, possibly due to the small number of cases or mild illness. Regarding symptoms reported on admission, seven asymptomatic patients screened recovered quickly, which may be related to the viral load and individual differences.

There was no significant difference in the number of patients between the two groups, which was related to the fact that almost all the patients had mild and moderate diseases, while one critically ill patient was quickly released from quarantine. These clinical results may suggest that there is a cross relationship between sustained positive test results for nucleic acid to SARS-CoV-2 observed in respiratory tract specimens and the severity of the disease 1 , 22 , However, it was not a linear relationship, and the reasons for the sustained positive nucleic acid test results are complex.

The reasons need to be studied further. This study had certain limitations. First, the number of cases in this study was not large; it had obvious regional characteristics, and the majority of patients had mild and moderate diseases, which cannot represent the characteristics of a large number of patients in a large geographical range. The study was also not representative of patients with severe and critical conditions. Nevertheless, this study can still provide a reference and help in the prevention and control of COVID in other comparable smaller-sized outbreaks.

The main source of infection was exposure to a patient with confirmed disease or to the workplace of a patient with confirmed disease. The main clinical symptoms were cough, fever, and fatigue; however, shortness of breath, sore throat, and gastrointestinal symptoms were also common.

A chest CT scan showing features of pneumonia and a reduced lymphocyte count were the most important adjunctive examination findings. The duration between symptom onset and release from quarantine was related to age, the length of time from onset to admission, and the presence or absence of symptoms and was not related to the mildness or normality of the type.

There was no significant improvement in white blood cell and lymphocyte counts at the time of release from quarantine compared to the time of admission. The study was conducted in accordance with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki, and the study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of Liaocheng People's Hospital. The need for informed consent was waived on account of the retrospective nature of the study.

ST and TW had full access to all of the data in the study and take responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis. ST and ZC contributed to study design and writing. The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

National Center for Biotechnology Information , U. Journal List Front Med Lausanne v. Get Word of the Day daily email! Test Your Vocabulary. Test your vocabulary with our question quiz! Love words? Need even more definitions? Homophones, Homographs, and Homonyms The same, but different. Ask the Editors 'Everyday' vs. What Is 'Semantic Bleaching'? How 'literally' can mean "figuratively".

Literally How to use a word that literally drives some pe Is Singular 'They' a Better Choice? The awkward case of 'his or her'. Take the quiz. These are known as asymptomatic conditions, and even though the idea of symptoms is often linked to discomfort or abnormal function, a condition without symptoms can be deadly.

Many types of infection do not show symptoms. These are known as subclinical infections, and they can be contagious despite not causing noticeable symptoms in the person carrying the infection. The infection can still be transmitted to other people during the incubation period, or the period during which the infectious agent takes hold of the body. Another danger of subclinical infections is that they can cause complications unrelated to the infection itself. For example, untreated urinary tract infections UTIs may cause premature births.

The first time a person will be aware of many asymptomatic conditions is during a visit to a doctor, normally concerning a different problem.

It is important to undergo regular health checks to identify any underlying problems that may not be obvious. Many cancers are asymptomatic during their early stages. Prostate cancer , for example, does not show symptoms until it has advanced to a certain point.

This is what makes some cancers so dangerous, as early treatment is often crucial when treating cancer. A medical sign is a physical response linked medical fact or characteristic that is detected by a physician, nurse, or medical device during the examination of a patient.

They can often be measured, and this measurement can be central to diagnosing a medical problem. Sometimes, a patient may not notice a sign, and it may not seem relevant. However, in the hands of a medical professional that knows how this sign relates to the rest of the body, the same sign can be the key to treating an underlying medical problem.

While there are differences between signs and symptoms, they are both ultimately methods the body uses to communicate health problems and trigger the search for a solution. Learn what the pulse is, where it is, and how to find it. This article includes a video showing you how to take a reading of your heart rate, and it…. Physiology is a study of the functions and processes that create life.

A sub-section of biology, physiology investigates how elements ranging from…. Anatomy is the study of the structure of living things. It is key to medicine and other areas of health.