Introduction:

Le objective is reduce the area of uncertainty with the understanding of the symptoms and the clinical characterization within the hospital environment.

Method:

This is a comparative descriptive study, where the clinical manifestations of 255 healthcare workers with COVID-19 during the first wave (March-April 2020) were reviewed and compared. According to the characteristics, the analysis of the results was performed using the chi-square tests, Mann-Whitney U / w. Wilcoxon and measures of central tendency.

Results:

Anosmia and ageusia had a statistically significant relationship with obtaining a positive result in the PCR: Anosmia p = 0.001; Ageusia: p = 0.00; fever (p = 0.01) and odynophagia (p = 0.03). Cough 75.56%, myalgia 68.11%, headache 43.53%, anosmia 37.25%, fever 34.12% and ageusia 31.76% stood out among the symptoms. The positivity of the PCR after the onset of symptoms was between 1.5 to 4 days.

Conclusions:

It is essential to use an approach that at least includes fever, anosmia or ageusia when establishing isolation and determining diagnostic tests. Clinical characterization is essential to be able to establish effective health strategies. New variants of SARS CoV-2 could alter the effectiveness of these strategies.