Clinical features of novel coronavirus infection patients and a feasible screening procedure

Objective: To study the clinical characteristics of novel coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19) patients and make a feasible screening process in fever clinic.

Identifying the effects of an upgraded 'fever clinic' on COVID-19 control and the workload of emergency department: retrospective study in a tertiary hospital in China.

OBJECTIVE: COVID-19 started spreading widely in China in January 2020. Outpatient fever clinics (FCs), instituted during the SARS epidemic in 2003, were upgraded to serve for COVID-19 screening and prevention of disease transmission in large tertiary hospitals in China. FCs were hoped to relieve some of the healthcare burden from emergency departments (EDs). We aimed to evaluate the effect of upgrading the FC system on rates of nosocomial COVID-19 infection and ED patient attendance at Peking Union Medical College Hospital (PUMCH). DESIGN: A retrospective cohort study. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 6365 patients were screened in the FC. METHODS: The FC of PUMCH was upgraded on 20 January 2020. We performed a retrospective study of patients presenting to the FC between 12 December 2019 and 29 February 2020. The date when COVID-19 was declared an outbreak in Beijing was 20 January 2020. Two groups of data were collected and subsequently compared with each other: the first group of data was collected within 40 days before 20 January 2020; the second group of data was collected within 40 days after 20 January 2020. All necessary data, including patient baseline information, diagnosis, follow-up conditions and the transfer records between the FC and ED, were collected and analysed. RESULTS: 6365 patients were screened in the FC, among whom 2912 patients were screened before 21 January 2020, while 3453 were screened afterward. Screening results showed that upper respiratory infection was the major disease associated with fever. After the outbreak of COVID-19, the number of patients who were transferred from the FC to the ED decreased significantly (39.21% vs 15.75%, p<0.001), and patients generally spent more time in the FC (55 vs 203 min, p<0.001), compared with before the outbreak. For critically ill patients waiting for their screening results, the total length of stay in the FC was 22 min before the outbreak, compared with 442 min after the outbreak (p<0.001). The number of in-hospital deaths of critically ill patients in the FC was 9 out of 29 patients before the outbreak and 21 out of 38 after the outbreak (p<0.05). Nineteen cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in the FC during the period of this study. However, no other patients nor any healthcare providers were cross-infected. CONCLUSION: The workload of the FC increased significantly after the COVID-19 outbreak. New protocols regarding the use of FC likely helped prevent the spread of COVID-19 within the hospital. The upgraded FC also reduced the burden on the ED.

Clinical features of 2019 novel coronavirus infection in Beijing.

BACKGROUND: A new coronavirus pneumonia caused by 2019 new coronavirus (2019-nCoV) is spreading in China. Here we summarized the patients we accepted in the fever outpatient department. METHODS: Patients with epidemiologic history, respiratory symptoms or fever were required to go to the fever clinic for screening. Patients were finally laboratory-confirmed 2019-nCoV infection by real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) using nasal and pharyngeal swabs. Epidemiologic features, clinical presentation, laboratory findings and image features were collected and analyzed. RESULTS: Totally, 16 patients were diagnosed as 2019-nCoV infection. The median age of the patients was 39.00 (35.25-55.75) years old, and the ratio of men and women was 9:7. Fifteen (93.75%) patients had clear epidemiologic history. The most common symptoms of the patients were fever (87.50%) and cough (n=8, 50.00%). The mean white blood cell count in the patients was (4.97±1.71) ×109/L, and it was lower than 4.00×109/L in 4 (25.00%) patients. The median neutrophil and lymphocyte count were 2.70 (1.84-3.27) ×109/L and (1.52±0.53) ×109/L respectively. The mean C-reactive protein level was 19.11±17.39 mg/L. Patients were likely had normal procalcitonin, creatinine, alanine aminotransferase, creatine kinase and lactate dehydrogenase levels at diagnosis. Fourteen (87.50%) patients had pneumonia in chest CT scan. CONCLUSIONS: No specific symptom was helpful in the diagnosis of 2019-nCoV infection, but relatively low WBC and lymphocyte level might be suggestive to diagnosis. Most patients had fever and pneumonia, however, there were indeed some patients without fever and pneumonia. Screening procedure should not only focus on fever patients. The origin, transmission route, key targets of the virus and mechanism of infection deserved more studies.

Characteristics of respiratory virus infection during the outbreak of 2019 novel coronavirus in Beijing.

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is spreading. Here, we summarized the composition of pathogens in fever clinic patients and analyzed the characteristics of different respiratory viral infections. METHODS: Retrospectively collected patients with definite etiological results using nasal and pharyngeal swabs in a fever clinic. RESULTS: Overall, 1860 patients were screened, and 136 patients were enrolled. 72 (52.94%) of them were diagnosed as influenza (Flu) A virus infection. 32 (23.53%) of them were diagnosed as Flu B virus infection. 18 (13.24%) and 14 (10.29%) of them were diagnosed as COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections, respectively. The COVID-19 group had a higher rate of contact with the epidemic area within 14 days and of clustering onset than other groups. Fever was the most common symptom in these patients. The ratio of fever to the highest temperature was higher in Flu A virus infection patients than in COVID-19 patients. COVID-19 patients had a lower white blood cell count and neutrophil count than Flu A virus and RSV infection groups, but higher lymphocyte count than Flu A and B virus infection groups. The COVID-19 group (83.33%) had a higher rate of pneumonia in chest CT scans than Flu A and B virus infection groups. CONCLUSIONS: Influenza viruses accounted for a large proportion of respiratory virus infection even during the epidemic of COVID-19 in Beijing. No single symptom or laboratory finding was suggestive of a specific respiratory virus; however, epidemic history was significant for the screening of COVID-19.