Descriptive, Retrospective Study of the Clinical Characteristics of Asymptomatic COVID-19 Patients
Huan Han, Zaichao Xu, Xiaoming Cheng, Youquan Zhong, Yuan Li, Xinghuan Wang, Yan Li, Fang Liu, Yingan Jiang, Chengliang Zhu, Yuchen Xia
Abstract
Asymptomatic transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a potential problem for pandemic control through public health strategies. Our results demonstrate that asymptomatic COVID-19 patients have better outcomes than symptomatic patients. This may have been due to more active cellular immune responses and normal liver function. Since asymptomatic patients have no clinical symptoms which can easily prevent timely diagnosis and treatment, they may cause a greater risk of virus transmission than symptomatic patients, which poses a major challenge to infection control. Evidence suggests that nonpharmaceutical public health interventions, like social distancing and face mask ordinances, play important roles in the control of COVID-19. Looking forward, it may be necessary to proceed cautiously while reopening businesses in areas of epidemicity to prevent potential waves of COVID-19 in the future.