Measures to Maintain a SARS-CoV-2 Negative Inpatient Hematological Unit in the Midst of the COVID-19 Pandemic
subject: covid-19, pandemic (COVID-19), Hematology, preventive measurements, inpatient units, immunodepressed patients
description: The University Hospital of Salamanca, in Spain, had its first COVID-19 case on March 1st and as of May 11th, we had 1,100 positive cases. Based on the vulnerability of patients with blood cancers, on March 9th, the Hematology Department developed a protocol, amended as the new information was available, to maintain the Hematology Unit as a “free COVID-19 island.” The protocol included symptom-based surveys and screening tests to patients, caregivers, and healthcare personnel to identify early potential positive cases and prevent its spread. Between March 9 and April 28, 32 asymptomatic patients and caregivers were tested and 68 rT-PCR diagnostic assays have been performed with two positive results. A 106 healthcare workers have been tested (208 rT-PCR) and seven of them were positive. In summary, the implementation of preemptive measures after the first case appeared allowed us to be able to provide treatment to our patients.
creator: Almudena Cabero-Martínez, Fermín Sánchez-Guijo, Lucía López-Corral, Estefanía Pérez, Alejandro Avendaño, Mónica Baile, Mónica Cabrero, Ana-Africa Martín, Angela Rodríguez, Balbina Pérez, Felipe Peña-Muñoz, Luz-Gema Román, Danylo Palomino, Lourdes López-Vázquez, María-Belén Vidriales, Marcos González-Diaz, María-Victoria Mateos, María-Dolores Caballero
source: Epidemiology and Health
publisher: Korean Society of Epidemiology
date: 2020
coverage: Medicine (General)