Publications
Detailed Information
Selecting coronavirus disease 2019 patients with negligible risk of progression: early experience from non-hospital isolation facility in Korea
Cited 18 time in
Web of Science
Cited 21 time in Scopus
- Authors
- Issue Date
- 2020-07
- Publisher
- 대한내과학회
- Citation
- The Korean Journal of Internal Medicine, Vol.35 No.4, pp.765-770
- Abstract
- Background/Aims: As the novel coronavirus (coronavirus disease 2019 [COVID-19]) outbreak progresses rapidly, staying home is recommended for suspected patients; however, the safety of this recommendation is uncertain. In Korea, non-hospital facilities called "living and treatment centers (LTCs)" have been established since 5 March 2020. The LTCs provided a unique opportunity to evaluate the safety of selection criteria for low-risk groups. Methods: Between 5 March and 9 April 2020, patients with COVID-19 who met the following criteria were admitted to the LTC; alert, age below 65 years old, no underlying disease or well-controlled underlying disease, body temperature below 38.0 degrees C, whether taking antipyretics or not, and no dyspnea. Patients were closely observed by doctors or nurses' interviews twice a day and transferred to hospitals when symptoms worsened. Results: A total of 113 patients were admitted to the LTC; 52.2% were female, with a median age of 25 years (interquartile range, 21.5 to 39.5). Of 113 patients, 54 (47.8%) were asymptomatic at diagnosis, and 15 (13.3%) had no symptoms until they were released from isolation. During the follow-up period, two (1.8%) patients were transferred to a hospital but did not progress to severe status during hospitalization. Conclusions: The risk of progression was negligible in COVID-19 patients who met the admission criteria for LTC at the time of diagnosis. LTCs could be a safe alternative considering shortage of hospital beds.
- ISSN
- 1226-3303
- Files in This Item:
- There are no files associated with this item.
Item View & Download Count
Items in S-Space are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.