Mining the Characteristics of COVID-19 Patients in China: Analysis of Social Media Posts
Mining the Characteristics of COVID-19 Patients in China: Analysis of Social Media Posts
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DOI：
10.2196/19087
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发表时间：
2020-05-17
影响因子：
7.4
通讯作者：
Yang, Ling
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Huang, Chunmei;Xu, Xinjie;Yang, Ling
背景：2019年12月，中国湖北省武汉市报告了不明原因肺炎病例。被确认为冠状病毒病（COVID-19）的病例数在武汉通过人际传播迅速增长。社交媒体，尤其是新浪微博新浪微博（中国主要的微博社交媒体网站），已经成为公众获取信息和寻求帮助的重要平台。目的：本研究旨在分析在新浪微博上寻求帮助的疑似或实验室确诊的COVID-19患者的特征。方法：我们在新浪微博上进行了数据挖掘，提取了485名出现疑似或实验室确诊的COVID-19病例临床症状和影像学描述的患者的数据。研究共分析了2020年2月3日至20日期间新浪微博上的9878条求助帖子。我们使用描述性研究方法描述疑似或实验室确诊的SARS-CoV-2（严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒2型）感染患者的分布和其他流行病学特征。结果：所有通过新浪微博求助的患者均居住在武汉，中位年龄为63.0岁（IQR 55.0-71.0）。发热（408/485，84.12%）是最常见的症状。毛玻璃样阴影（237/314，75.48%）是胸部CT最常见的类型，39.67%（167/421）的家庭有疑似和/或实验室确诊的成员，36.58%（154/421）的家庭有1 ~ 2名疑似和/或实验室确诊的成员; 70.52%（232/329）的患者需要依靠亲属帮助。从发病到实时逆转录聚合酶链反应（RT-PCR）检测的中位时间为8天（IQR 5.0-10.0），从发病到在线帮助的中位时间为10天（IQR 6.0-12.0）。481例患者中，32.22%（n=155）的患者居住地距离最近的定点医院超过3 km。结论：通过新浪微博求助的患者居住地在武汉，且以老年人为主。大多数患者有发热症状，胸部计算机断层扫描发现磨玻璃影。发病具有家庭聚集性特点，多数家庭居住地远离定点医院。因此，我们建议：（1）采取最严格的集中医学观察措施，避免家庭聚集性传播;（2）社交媒体可以帮助这些患者在武汉封城期间得到早期关注。这些发现可以帮助政府和卫生部门识别高风险患者，并在公众寻求帮助时加快应急响应。
Background: In December 2019, pneumonia cases of unknown origin were reported in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China. Identified as the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the number of cases grew rapidly by human-to-human transmission in Wuhan. Social media, especially Sina Weibo (a major Chinese microblogging social media site), has become an important platform for the public to obtain information and seek help.Objective: This study aims to analyze the characteristics of suspected or laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 patients who asked for help on Sina Weibo.Methods: We conducted data mining on Sina Weibo and extracted the data of 485 patients who presented with clinical symptoms and imaging descriptions of suspected or laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19. In total, 9878 posts seeking help on Sina Weibo from February 3 to 20, 2020 were analyzed. We used a descriptive research methodology to describe the distribution and other epidemiological characteristics of patients with suspected or laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) infection. The distance between patients' home and the nearest designated hospital was calculated using the geographic information system ArcGIS.Results: All patients included in this study who sought help on Sina Weibo lived in Wuhan, with a median age of 63.0 years (IQR 55.0-71.0). Fever (408/485, 84.12%) was the most common symptom. Ground-glass opacity (237/314, 75.48%) was the most common pattern on chest computed tomography; 39.67% (167/421) of families had suspected and/or laboratory-confirmed family members; 36.58% (154/421) of families had 1 or 2 suspected and/or laboratory-confirmed members; and 70.52% (232/329) of patients needed to rely on their relatives for help. The median time from illness onset to real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing was 8 days (IQR 5.0-10.0), and the median time from illness onset to online help was 10 days (IQR 6.0-12.0). Of 481 patients, 32.22% (n=155) lived more than 3 kilometers away from the nearest designated hospital.Conclusions: Our findings show that patients seeking help on Sina Weibo lived in Wuhan and most were elderly. Most patients had fever symptoms, and ground-glass opacities were noted in chest computed tomography. The onset of the disease was characterized by family clustering and most families lived far from the designated hospital. Therefore, we recommend the following: (1) the most stringent centralized medical observation measures should be taken to avoid transmission in family clusters; and (2) social media can help these patients get early attention during Wuhan's lockdown. These findings can help the government and the health department identify high-risk patients and accelerate emergency responses following public demands for help.