COVID-19 Symptoms Can Actually Help in Differentiating Various Respiratory Diseases

Calling it a “silver lining” might be a stretch, but an article just published in The International Journal of Clinical Practice reveals that COVID-19 can actually provide valuable insights that are useful in distinguishing among chronic respiratory conditions in patients with the virus. Given that a number of those conditions have symptoms in common with each other and with SARS-CoV-2, and that patients with some conditions are more susceptible to severe illness with COVID-19, this discovery may be useful in initiating appropriate treatment early, thereby increasing the chance for positive outcomes. For example, according to the article, COPD and asthma have been found to be more common among COVID-19 patients than is allergic rhinitis. The authors concluded that “symptoms such as fever, dry cough, diarrhea, loss of sense and smell and taste, shortness of breath, and blue lips in COVID-19 patients can be used for differential diagnosis between COVID-19 patients and other respiratory diseases.”