RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: This is an observational study to analyze an emergency department (ED) utilization pattern of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccinated in-hospital healthcare workers (HCWs). METHODS: We included 4,703 HCWs who were administered the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine between March 4 and April 2, 2021, in a tertiary hospital in Korea where fast-track and post-vaccination cohort zone (PVCZ) were introduced in ED. We analyzed data of participants' age, sex, occupation, date and type of vaccination, and their clinical information using SPSS v25.0. RESULTS: The sample comprised HCWs, who received either the ChAdOx1 (n = 4,458) or the BNT162B2 (n = 245) vaccines; most participants were female (73.5%), and 81.1% were under 50 years old. Further, 153 (3.3%) visited the ED and reported experiencing fever (66.9%) and myalgia (56.1%). Additionally, 91 (59.5%) of them were in their 20s, and 106 (67.5%) were assigned to the PVCZ. Lastly, 107 (68.2%) of the patients received parenteral management. No patient required hospitalization. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, vaccinated HCWs who visited the ED with adverse events had a high incidence of fever and a low likelihood of developing serious illnesses. As the COVID-19 vaccination program for Korean citizens continues to expand, strategies to minimize unnecessary ED overcrowding should be put into effect.
Asunto(s)
Vacunas contra la COVID-19/efectos adversos , Servicio de Urgencia en Hospital/estadística & datos numéricos , Aceptación de la Atención de Salud/estadística & datos numéricos , Personal de Hospital/estadística & datos numéricos , Vacunación/efectos adversos , Adulto , Antieméticos/uso terapéutico , Antipiréticos/uso terapéutico , Vacuna BNT162 , Prueba de COVID-19/estadística & datos numéricos , ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 , Escalofríos/inducido químicamente , Escalofríos/epidemiología , Protocolos Clínicos , Servicio de Urgencia en Hospital/organización & administración , Femenino , Fiebre/inducido químicamente , Fiebre/tratamiento farmacológico , Fiebre/epidemiología , Cefalea/inducido químicamente , Cefalea/epidemiología , Humanos , Masculino , Persona de Mediana Edad , Mialgia/inducido químicamente , Mialgia/epidemiología , Náusea/inducido químicamente , Náusea/tratamiento farmacológico , Náusea/epidemiología , Readmisión del Paciente/estadística & datos numéricos , República de Corea , Estudios Retrospectivos , Diseño de Software , Centros de Atención Terciaria/estadística & datos numéricos , Triaje , Adulto JovenRESUMEN
Recently, the number of Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases has increased remarkably in South Korea, so the triage clinics and emergency departments (ED) are expected to be overcrowded with patients with presumed infection. As of March 21st, there was a total of 8,799 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 102 related deaths in South Korea that was one of the top countries with high incidence rates [1]. This sharp increase in infection is associated with 1) outbreaks in individual provinces, 2) deployment of rapid and aggressive screening tests, 3) dedicated healthcare staffs for virus screening tests, 4) quarantine inspection data transparency and accurate data reporting, and 5) public health lessons from previous Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) outbreaks. This commentary introduces innovative screening tests that are currently used in South Korea for COVID-19, e.g., Drive-Through and Walk-Through tests, and compare the advantages and disadvantages of both methods.