ABSTRACT
Hospital-at-home (HaH) care is useful for patients with COVID-19 and an alternative strategy when hospital capacity is under pressure due to patient surges. However, the efficacy and safety of HaH in elderly patients with COVID-19 remain unknown. In Kyoto city, we conducted a retrospective medical record review of HaH care focused on elderly COVID-19 patients from 4 February to 25 June 2021. Eligible patients were (1) COVID-19 patients aged ≥70 years and those who lived with them or (2) COVID-19 patients aged <70 years with special circumstances and those who lived with them. During the study period, 100 patients received HaH care. Their median age was 76 years (interquartile range 56-83), and 65% were over 70 years. Among 100 patients, 36 (36%) had hypoxia (oxygen saturation ≤ 92%), 21 (21%) received steroid medication, and 34 (34%) received intravenous fluids. Although 22 patients were admitted to the hospital and 3 patients died there, no patients died during HaH care. HaH care may be safe and effective in elderly patients with COVID-19. Our study shows that HaH provides an alternative strategy for treating COVID-19 patients and can reduce the healthcare burden at hospitals.
ABSTRACT
Hospital-at-home (HaH) care is useful for patients with COVID-19 and an alternative strategy when hospital capacity is under pressure due to patient surges. However, the efficacy and safety of HaH in elderly patients with COVID-19 remain unknown. In Kyoto city, we conducted a retrospective medical record review of HaH care focused on elderly COVID-19 patients from 4 February to 25 June 2021. Eligible patients were (1) COVID-19 patients aged ≥70 years and those who lived with them or (2) COVID-19 patients aged <70 years with special circumstances and those who lived with them. During the study period, 100 patients received HaH care. Their median age was 76 years (interquartile range 56–83), and 65% were over 70 years. Among 100 patients, 36 (36%) had hypoxia (oxygen saturation ≤92%), 21 (21%) received steroid medication, and 34 (34%) received intravenous fluids. Although 22 patients were admitted to the hospital and 3 patients died there, no patients died during HaH care. HaH care may be safe and effective in elderly patients with COVID-19. Our study shows that HaH provides an alternative strategy for treating COVID-19 patients and can reduce the healthcare burden at hospitals.
ABSTRACT
The coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19), which began in Wuhan, China, at the end of 2019, is spreading around the world and causing many deaths, mainly from pneumonia. Currently, there are no specific drugs to treat COVID-19, and existing antiviral drugs are being used as an alternative. One of these is favipiravir, a new type of influenza drug. However, its efficacy, dosage, and duration of administration are still under study. In this case study, we administered favipiravir to patients with COVID-19 and determined the viral load of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the COVID-19 pathogen, using semi-quantitative real-time reverse transcription PCR in sputum samples. We report on two patients in whom the viral load increased again after completion of 10 days of favipiravir treatment and a transient relapse of symptoms was observed.