Symptom Profiles of a Convenience Sample of Patients with COVID-19 — United States, January–April 2020

Case Investigation Form Working GroupCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was first detected in the United States in January 2020 (1), and by mid-July, approximately 3.4 million cases had been reported in the United States (2).Information about symptoms among U.S. COVID-19 patients is limited, especially among nonhospitalized patients.To better understand symptom profiles of patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 in the United States, CDC used an optional questionnaire to collect detailed information on a convenience sample of COVID-19 patients from participating states.Symptom data were analyzed by age group, sex, hospitalization status, and symptom onset date relative to expansion of testing guidelines on March 8, 2020 (3).Among 164 symptomatic patients with known onset during January 14-April 4, 2020, a total of 158 (96%) reported fever, cough, or shortness of breath.Among 57 hospitalized adult patients (aged ≥18 years), 39 (68%) reported all three of these symptoms, compared with 25 (31%) of the 81 nonhospitalized adult patients.Gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms and other symptoms, such as chills, myalgia, headache, and fatigue, also were commonly reported, especially after expansion of testing guidelines.To aid prompt recognition of COVID-19, clinicians and public health professionals should be aware that COVID-19 can cause a wide variety of symptoms.The CDC COVID-19 case investigation form is a detailed questionnaire that was completed as an optional activity by participating states* for a subset of laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases identified through care-seeking, surveillance, or contact tracing.This subset of cases was selected at the state level through convenience sampling, with guidance to include cases with a range of ages and severities.Staff members at local or state health departments or CDC personnel deployed to support health departments interviewed patients or their proxies and reviewed medical records to complete the case investigation form.The case investigation form was used to collect demographic, epidemiologic, and clinical information (including symptoms) about COVID-19 patients.Patients were asked about a series of commonly and less commonly * States that participated in this supplemental activity include Alaska, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.