DELHI: Two new symptoms, loss of smell and taste (anosmia & ageusia) have been added in the clinical management guidelines for the COVID-19 patients by the Health Ministry of India.
The guideline stated that “Loss of smell (anosmia) or loss of taste (ageusia) preceding the onset of respiratory symptoms has also been reported.”
Typical symptoms such as fatigue, reduced alertness, reduced mobility, diarrhoea, loss of appetite, delirium are in particular presented by immune-suppressed patients and people of old age. Fever or cough has not been reported by children as frequently as it is being reported by adults, said the Ministry.
The guideline also mentioned that “As per data from Integrated Health Information Platform (IHIP)/Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) portal, case investigation forms for COVID-19 (15,366), the details on the signs and symptoms reported (as on June 11, 2020), fever (27 per cent), cough (21 per cent), sore throat (10 per cent), breathlessness (8 per cent), weakness (7 per cent), running nose (3 percent) and others (24 per cent),”
Anyone with a history of travel or residence in a location reporting community transmission of COVID-19 during the 14 days prior to symptom onset, and a patient with an acute respiratory illness (fever and at least one sign/symptom of respiratory disease, e.g., cough, shortness of breath and requiring hospitalization) and in the absence of an alternative diagnosis that fully explains the clinical presentation can also be a suspected case of coronavirus, as per the Health Ministry’s new guidelines.
The symptoms of fever, cough, fatigue, shortness of breath, expectoration, myalgia, rhinorrhea, sore throat, diarrhoea, etc have been reported to various COVID treatment facilities by COVID-19 patients as clinical features.