Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40760648›Full record

ArticleArchives of public health = Archives belges de sante publique2025

Identifying clinically useful COVID-19 population and emergency department phenotypes across the pre-Omicron and Omicron periods.

Lander Rodriguez-Idiazabal, Daniel Fernández, Jose M Quintana, Julia Garcia-Asensio, Maria Jose Legarreta, Nere Larrea, Irantzu Barrio

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Archives of public health = Archives belges de sante publique, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

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2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Lander Rodriguez-IdiazabalDepartment of Mathematics, University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, Leioa, Basque Country, Spain. lrodriguez062@ikasle.ehu.eus.
Daniel FernándezInstitute for Research and Innovation in Health (IRIS), Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya - BarcelonaTech (UPC), Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
Jose M QuintanaNetwork for Research On Chronicity, Primary Care, and Health Promotion (RICAPPS), Madrid, Spain.
Julia Garcia-AsensioOffice of Healthcare Planning, Organization and Evaluation, Basque Government Department of Health, Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain.
Maria Jose LegarretaNetwork for Research On Chronicity, Primary Care, and Health Promotion (RICAPPS), Madrid, Spain.
Nere LarreaNetwork for Research On Chronicity, Primary Care, and Health Promotion (RICAPPS), Madrid, Spain.
Irantzu BarrioDepartment of Mathematics, University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, Leioa, Basque Country, Spain.

Funding

Eusko Jaurlaritza IT1456-22Generalitat de Catalunya 2021 SGR 01421 (GRBIO)Instituto de Salud Carlos III RD16/0001/0001Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación CEX2021-001142-SMinisterio de Ciencia e Innovación PID2019-104830RB-I00
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundRapidly phenotyping patients can enhance healthcare management during new pandemic outbreaks. This can be accomplished through data-driven unsupervised methods that do not require clinical outcomes to be available. This study aimed to identify and compare phenotypes of COVID-19 patients and the subset of those patients who visited emergency departments using clustering techniques based on a limited set of easily accessible variables across different stages of the pandemic.

methodsWe conducted a population-based retrospective study that included all reported adult COVID-19 patients in the Basque Country from March 1, 2020, to January 9, 2022. Phenotypes were identified separately for the pre-Omicron and Omicron periods in an unsupervised manner using clustering techniques based on easily obtainable clinical and sociodemographic variables. The clinical characteristics of the phenotypes were compared, and subsequently their association with the clinical outcomes was assessed.

resultsFour phenotypes were identified in both the general population and the emergency department sub-group in the pre-Omicron period, whereas three phenotypes were extracted in Omicron. Within each scenario, these phenotypes varied significantly in age and comorbidity rates, leading to varying associations with COVID-19 outcomes. Despite their similarities, the emergency department phenotypes consistently experienced worse outcomes than their general population counterparts. Moreover, the population and emergency department phenotypes identified during the Omicron period resembled those from the pre-Omicron stage, suggesting stable phenotypic structures throughout the pandemic.

conclusionsThis study highlights the potential of phenotype identification based on a few accessible variables for a meaningful segregation of patients. This approach could be extended to future pandemics as a preventive public health strategy, especially considering the growing likelihood of facing new ones.

Indexed as

Cluster analysisCOVID-19PhenotypePreventive medicinePublic Health

Identifiers

PMID40760648
PMCPMC12323085

What Socratic holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.