Huang Chunmei, Xu Xinjie, Cai Yuyang, Ge Qinmin, Zeng Guangwang, Li Xiaopan, Zhang Weide, Ji Chen, Yang Ling
Department of Geriatrics, Xinhua Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
Department of Emergency, Xinhua Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
J Med Internet Res. 2020 May 17;22(5):e19087. doi: 10.2196/19087.
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.
This study aims to analyze the characteristics of suspected or laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 patients who asked for help on Sina Weibo.
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.
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.
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.
2019年12月，中国湖北省武汉市报告了不明原因肺炎病例。该疾病被确定为冠状病毒病（COVID-19），在武汉通过人际传播导致病例数迅速增长。社交媒体，尤其是新浪微博（中国一个主要的微博社交媒体平台），已成为公众获取信息和寻求帮助的重要平台。
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。
我们对新浪微博进行了数据挖掘，提取了485例出现COVID-19疑似或实验室确诊病例临床症状及影像描述患者的数据。共分析了2020年2月3日至20日在新浪微博上寻求帮助的9878条帖子。我们采用描述性研究方法来描述疑似或实验室确诊的严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒2（SARS-CoV-2）感染患者的分布及其他流行病学特征。使用地理信息系统ArcGIS计算患者家庭与最近指定医院之间的距离。
本研究中所有在新浪微博上寻求帮助的患者均居住在武汉，中位年龄为63.0岁（四分位间距55.0 - 71.0）。发热（408/485，84.12%）是最常见的症状。磨玻璃影（237/314，75.48%）是胸部计算机断层扫描最常见的表现；39.67%（167/421）的家庭有疑似和/或实验室确诊的家庭成员；36.58%（154/421）的家庭有1名或2名疑似和/或实验室确诊成员；70.52%（232/329）患者需要依靠亲属寻求帮助。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（四分位间距5.0 - 10.0），从发病到在线求助的中位时间为10天（四分位间距6.0 - 12.0）。在481例患者中，32.22%（n = 155）居住在距离最近指定医院3公里以上的地方。
我们的研究结果表明，在新浪微博上寻求帮助的患者居住在武汉，大多数为老年人。大多数患者有发热症状，胸部计算机断层扫描可见磨玻璃影。疾病发病具有家庭聚集性，且大多数家庭距离指定医院较远。因此，我们建议如下：（1）应采取最严格的集中医学观察措施，以避免在家庭聚集性传播；（2）在武汉封城期间，社交媒体可帮助这些患者获得早期关注。这些发现有助于政府和卫生部门识别高危患者，并根据公众求助需求加快应急响应。
