The symptomatic expression of infection with the Omicron variant in Chinese patients; findings from the Clificol COVID-19 clinical case registry

_Background_ Little systematic research has been conducted into the symptomatic expression of COVID-19 infections in patients. It is known that symptomatic expression varies between patients, but the nature and extent of this variability is poorly understood. This paper elaborates on the symptoms reported by Chinese patients infected with the Omicron variant, and compares this with available data from other countries. _Methods_ Observational clinical case registry study of Chinese patients with confirmed Omicron variant COVID-19 infection. Symptoms were prospectively collected via a 171-item questionnaire and entered into the Clificol COVID-19 Clinical Case Registry. Two types of symptoms were distinguished: A) common clinical symptoms as identified by a search of available/published data, and B) homeopathic symptoms, used for the selection of the most suitable homeopathic medicine. Data were mainly analysed descriptively. Additionally, we compared the prevalence of the reported symptoms with available symptom data from the UK and France. _Results_ Twenty one Chinese practitioners collected questionnaires on 388 cases that received a first homeopathic prescription between 5 December 2021 and 8 April 2022. With respect to A), the most frequently reported clinical symptoms were respectively cough (71%), fever (65%), extreme tiredness (58%), headache (51%), sore throat (46%), runny nose (34%), unusual muscle pains (31%), hoarseness (21%), eye soreness (8%) and brain fog (6%). With respect to B), homeopathic symptoms related to cough and fever were particularly prevalent. _Conclusions_ This is the first study which systematically investigated the reported symptoms of Chinese COVID-19 patients infected with the Omicron variant. Whilst the overall clinical symptom expression was similar to those reported for other countries, cough and fever related symptoms appeared to be particularly prevalent.