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COVID-Q: validation of the first COVID-19 questionnaire based on patient-rated symptom gravity
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  • Giacomo Spinato,
  • Cristoforo Fabbris,
  • Federica Conte,
  • Anna Menegaldo,
  • Leonardo Franz,
  • Piergiorgio Gaudioso,
  • Francesco Cinetto,
  • Carlo Agostini,
  • Giulio Costantini,
  • Paolo Boscolo-Rizzo
Giacomo Spinato
Università degli Studi di Padova Dipartimento di Neuroscienze

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Cristoforo Fabbris
Università degli Studi di Padova Dipartimento di Neuroscienze
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Federica Conte
Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca
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Anna Menegaldo
Università degli Studi di Padova Dipartimento di Neuroscienze
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Leonardo Franz
Università degli Studi di Padova Dipartimento di Neuroscienze
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Piergiorgio Gaudioso
Università degli Studi di Padova Dipartimento di Neuroscienze
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Francesco Cinetto
Università degli Studi di Padova
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Carlo Agostini
Università degli Studi di Padova
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Giulio Costantini
Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca
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Paolo Boscolo-Rizzo
Azienda Sanitaria Universitaria Integrata di Trieste
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Abstract

Objectives The aim of the present study is to develop and validate the COVID-Q, a novel symptom questionnaire specific for COVID-19 patients, to provide a comprehensive and standard clinical evaluation. A secondary goal of the present study was to evaluate the performance of the COVID-Q in identifying subjects at higher risk of being tested positive for COVID-19. Material and methods 460 subjects (230 COVID-19 cases and 230 healthy controls), answered the COVID-Q. Parallel Analysis and Principal Component Analysis were used to identify clusters of items measuring the same dimension. The IRT-based analyses evaluated the functioning of item categories, the presence of clusters of local dependence among items, item fit within the model and model fit to the data. Results Parallel analysis suggested the extraction of six components, which corresponded to as many clinical presentation patterns: asthenia, influenza-like symptoms, ear and nose symptoms, breathing issues, throat symptoms, and anosmia/ageusia. The final IRT models retained 27 items as significant for symptom assessment. The total score on the questionnaire was significantly associated with positivity to the molecular SARS-CoV-2 test. Subjects with multiple symptoms were significantly more likely to be affected by COVID-19 (p < .001). Older age and male gender also represented risk factors. None of the examined comorbidities had a significant association with COVID-19 diagnosis. Conclusion The application of the novel COVID-Q to everyday clinical practice may help identifying subjects who are likely to be affected by COVID-19 and address them to a nasopharyngeal swab in order to achieve an early diagnosis.
16 May 2021Submitted to International Journal of Clinical Practice
19 May 2021Submission Checks Completed
19 May 2021Assigned to Editor
19 May 2021Reviewer(s) Assigned
05 Jul 2021Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
06 Jul 2021Editorial Decision: Revise Major
11 Aug 20211st Revision Received
12 Aug 2021Submission Checks Completed
12 Aug 2021Assigned to Editor
12 Aug 2021Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
03 Sep 2021Editorial Decision: Accept
22 Sep 2021Published in International Journal of Clinical Practice. 10.1111/ijcp.14829