Symptoms associated with nucleic acid turning-negative-time in COVID-19 patients?

To explore on the association between nucleic acid turning-negative-time and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) symptoms in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients with the Omicron variant.

For this retrospective cross-sectional study, we enrolled 189 patients with COVID-19 (age 20-90 years) were included. multiple linear regression models were used to investigate the TCM symptoms affecting the nucleic acid turning-negative-time of COVID-19 patients, during the process of data analysis, taking with nucleic acid turning-negative-time as the dependent variable, and TCM symptoms as independent variables, and at the same time, sex, age, hypertension, diabetes, and coronary heart disease were as confounding variables.

The study found that the most common TCM symptoms of COVID-19 patients with Omicron were cough, dry throat, expectoration, fever, sore throat, pharyngeal itching, running nose, and nasal congestion. Regression analysis showed that the fit regressive equation showed a significant difference (F = 4.286, P < 0.001), R = 0.400, the adjusted R 2 = 0.123, and three variables in the regression equation showed significant difference (P < 0. 05). The results showed that nucleic acid turning-negative-time was mostly related to constipation, fever, and expectoration. If the patients had the symptoms of constipation, fever, and expectoration; that is, if patients showed these symptoms, the turning-negative-time of nucleic acid in patients with Omicron will be prolonged.

Treatment based on symptoms for patients with constipation, fever, and expectoration may have important clinical significance for the COVID-19 patients with Omicron.