Safety and Effectiveness of an In-Hospital Screening Station for Coronavirus Disease 2019 in Response to the Massive Community Outbreak
subject: Healthcare workers, hospital infection, screening, Coronavirus disease 2019, nocebo effect
description: Hye-In Choi,1 Hae-Jin Ko,2 Ji-Eun Song,3 Ji-Yeon Park,3 Jin-Hee Kim3 1Department of Family Medicine, Kyungpook National University Hospital, Daegu, Korea; 2Department of Family Medicine, Kyungpook National University Hospital, Kyungpook National University School of Medicine, Daegu, Korea; 3Department of Family Medicine, Kyungpook National University Hospital, Kyungpook National University Chilgok Hospital, Daegu, KoreaCorrespondence: Hae-Jin KoDepartment of Family Medicine, Kyungpook National University Hospital, Kyungpook National University School of Medicine, 130 Dongdeok-Ro, Jung-Gu, Daegu, 41944, KoreaTel +82 53 200 6578Fax +82 53 200 5480Email liveforme@knu.ac.krPurpose: To evaluate the results of operating an in-hospital coronavirus disease 2019 screening station on an outpatient basis and to identify the effectiveness and necessity of such a screening station.Patients and Methods: This cross-sectional study included 1345 individuals who were tested for COVID-19 using real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) at an in-hospital screening station on an outpatient basis. The subjects were healthcare workers (HCWs) with suspected COVID-19 symptoms or exposure to patients with confirmed COVID-19, caregivers at the hospital for complete enumeration, and patients who were scheduled to be admitted to a nonrestricted area in the hospital or to visit for outpatient treatment, but had suspected COVID-19 symptoms. The subjects were divided and compared as follows: HCW versus non-HCW groups and RT-PCR positive versus negative groups.Results: A total of 140 had symptoms, 291 wanted to be tested, and 664 were asymptomatic but were screened. Seven subjects had positive results for COVID-19. Compared with the non-HCWs, the HCWs were younger and had a lower rate of underlying medical conditions. In addition, there were more women, individuals with exposure to confirmed cases, and individuals with symptoms or those who just wanted to be tested. The fre…
creator: Choi HI, Ko HJ, Song JE, Park JY, Kim JH
source: Biotemas
publisher: Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina
date: 2021
coverage: Public aspects of medicine