A COVID-19 first evaluation clinic at a university hospital in Turkey

Authors

GÜLÇİN TELLİ DİZMAN
GÖKHAN METAN
ÇAĞLAYAN MERVE AYAZ CEYLAN
HAYRİYE ALTUNAY
MERTCAN UZUN
GAMZE GÜRSOY
ZAHİT TAŞ
GİZEM KARAHAN
FARİDA AHMADOVA
TUĞBA SARICAOĞLU
ZEYNEP CANSU ÇALIŞKAN
ALPASLAN ALP
MELİHA ÇAĞLA SÖNMEZER
AHMET ÇAĞKAN İNKAYA
AHMET GÖRKEM ER

DOI

10.3906/sag-2104-152

Abstract

Background/aim: We aimed to analyze the usefulness of such a reserved area for the admission of the patients' symptoms suggesting COVID-19 and compare the demographic and clinical characteristics of the patients with COVID-19 and without COVID-19 who were admitted to C1 during the first month of the COVID-19 outbreak in our hospital. Materials and methods: A new area was set up in Hacettepe University Adult Hospital to limit the contact of COVID-19 suspicious patients with other patients, which was named as COVID-19 First Evaluation Outpatient Clinic (C1). C1 had eight isolation rooms and two sampling rooms for SARS-CoV-2 polymerase-chain-reaction (PCR). All rooms were negative-pressurized. Patients who had symptoms that were compatible with COVID-19 were referred to C1 from pretriage areas. All staff received training for the appropriate use of personal protective equipment and were visited daily by the Infection Prevention and Control team. Results: One hundred and ninety-eight (29.4%) of 673 patients who were admitted to C1were diagnosed with COVID-19 between March 20, 2020, and April 19, 2020. SARS-CoV-2 PCR was positive in 142 out of 673 patients. Chest computerized tomography (CT) was performed in 421 patients and COVID-19 was diagnosed in 56 of them based on CT findings despite negative PCR. Four hundred and ninety-three patients were tested for other viral and bacterial infections with multiplex real-time reverse-transcriptase PCR (RT- PCR). Blood tests that included complete blood count, renal and liver functions, d-dimer levels, ferritin, C- reactive protein, and procalcitonin were performed in 593 patients. Only one out of 44 healthcare workers who worked at C1 was infected by SARS-CoV-2. Conclusion: A well-planned outpatient care area and teamwork including internal medicine, microbiology, and radiology specialists under the supervision of infectious diseases specialists allowed adequate management of the mild-to-moderate patients with suspicion of COVID-19.

Keywords

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, coronavirus disease 2019, SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19, outpatient clinic, Turkey

First Page

1

Last Page

10

Recommended Citation

DİZMAN, GÜLÇİN TELLİ; METAN, GÖKHAN; CEYLAN, ÇAĞLAYAN MERVE AYAZ; ALTUNAY, HAYRİYE; UZUN, MERTCAN; GÜRSOY, GAMZE; TAŞ, ZAHİT; KARAHAN, GİZEM; AHMADOVA, FARİDA; SARICAOĞLU, TUĞBA; ÇALIŞKAN, ZEYNEP CANSU; ALP, ALPASLAN; SÖNMEZER, MELİHA ÇAĞLA; İNKAYA, AHMET ÇAĞKAN; and ER, AHMET GÖRKEM (2022) "A COVID-19 first evaluation clinic at a university hospital in Turkey," Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences: Vol. 52: No. 1, Article 1. https://doi.org/10.3906/sag-2104-152
Available at: https://journals.tubitak.gov.tr/medical/vol52/iss1/1