Myalgia may not be associated with severity of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)
Giuseppe Lippi, Johnny Wong, Brandon Michael Henry
Abstract
A recent study based on the use of experimental artificial intelligence (AI) tool showed 70%-80% accuracy in predicting development of severe disease in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) based on predictive parameters alanine aminotransferase (ALT), myalgia and hemoglobin, whilst only 5 of 53 patients developed acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), 2 of whom reporting myalgia. It is commonly advocated that myalgia may reflect generalized inflammation and cytokine response. Multiple studies showed that myalgia is a common symptom at onset of COVID-19, seen in up to 36% of such patients. herefore, in this short article we aim to further assess whether myalgia may be a reliable predictor of severe COVID-19 disease.