ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: Access and appropriateness of therapeutics for COVID-19 vary because of access or regulatory barriers, the severity of the disease, and for some therapies, the stage of the pandemic and circulating variants. Remdesivir has shown benefits in clinical recovery and is the treatment of choice for selected patients, both hospitalized and nonhospitalized, in main international guidelines. The use of remdesivir in alternatives to conventional hospitalization such as hospital at home (HaH) units remains incompletely explored. In this study, we aim to describe the real-life experience of outpatient remdesivir infusion for COVID-19 in a HaH unit. METHODS: We selected all the consecutive patients receiving remdesivir from a prospective cohort of 507 COVID-19 patients admitted at a HaH unit. Admission criteria included COVID-19 with a fraction of inspired oxygen requirement under 0.35 and respiratory rate under 22 rpm. Patients were daily assessed in person by a nurse and a physician. RESULTS: A total of 236 patients admitted at the HaH unit received remdesivir, 172 of whom were treated at home. Only 2% presented any adverse event related to the infusion, all of them mild. HaH saved 1416 day-beds, with only 5% of the patients requiring transfer back to the hospital. CONCLUSION: Remdesivir infusion in HaH units seems to be a safe and efficient alternative to conventional hospitalization for treating patients with nonsevere COVID-19.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Humans , Prospective Studies , COVID-19 Drug Treatment , Alanine/therapeutic use , HospitalsSubject(s)
COVID-19/therapy , Hospitals, Public/organization & administration , Hospitals, Teaching/organization & administration , Hospitals, Urban/organization & administration , Patient Transfer , Aged , Female , Hospital Bed Capacity , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Quarantine , SARS-CoV-2 , Severity of Illness Index , SpainABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreaks, health care workers (HCWs) are at a high risk of infection. Strategies to reduce in-hospital transmission between HCWs and to safely manage infected HCWs are lacking. Our aim was to describe an active strategy for the management of COVID-19 in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)-infected HCWs and investigate its outcomes. METHODS: A prospective cohort study of SARS-CoV-2-infected health care workers in a tertiary teaching hospital in Barcelona, Spain, was performed. An active strategy of weekly polymerase chain reaction screening of HCWs for SARS-CoV-2 was established by the Occupational Health department. Every positive HCW was admitted to the Hospital at Home Unit with daily assessment online and in-person discretionary visits. Clinical and epidemiological data were recorded. RESULTS: Of the 590 HCWs included in the cohort, 134 (22%) were asymptomatic at diagnosis, and 15% (89 patients) remained asymptomatic during follow-up. A third of positive cases were detected during routine screening. The most frequent symptoms were cough (68%), hyposmia/anosmia (49%), and fever (41%). Ten percent of the patients required specific treatment at home, while only 4% of the patients developed pneumonia. Seventeen patients required a visit to the outpatient clinic for further evaluation, and 6 of these (1%) required hospital admission. None of the HCWs included in this cohort required intensive care unit admission or died. CONCLUSIONS: Active screening for SARS-CoV-2 among HCWs for early diagnosis and stopping in-hospital transmission chains proved efficacious in our institution, particularly due to the high percentage of asymptomatic HCWs. Follow-up of HCWs in Hospital at Home units is safe and effective, with low rates of severe infection and readmission.
ABSTRACT
Alternatives to conventional hospitalization are needed to increase health systems resilience in the face of COVID-19 pandemic. Herein, we describe the characteristics and outcomes of 63 patients admitted to a single HaH during the peak of COVID-19 in Barcelona. Our results suggest that HaH seems to be a safe and efficacious alternative to conventional hospitalization for accurately selected patients with COVID-19.