Ensuring trust in COVID-19 data: A retrospective cohort study.
Medicine (Baltimore)
; 100(35): e26972, 2021 Sep 03.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1393505
ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT There are no standardized methods for collecting and reporting coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) data. We aimed to compare the proportion of patients admitted for COVID-19-related symptoms and those admitted for other reasons who incidentally tested positive for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).Retrospective cohort studyData were sampled twice weekly between March 26 and June 6, 2020 from a "COVID-19 dashboard," a system-wide administrative database that includes the number of hospitalized patients with a positive SARS-CoV-2 polymerase chain reaction test. Patient charts were subsequently reviewed and the principal reason for hospitalization abstracted.Data collected during a statewide lockdown revealed that 92 hospitalized patients had positive SARS-CoV-2 test results. Among these individuals, 4.3% were hospitalized for reasons other than COVID-19-related symptoms but were incidentally found to be SARS-CoV-2-positive. After the lockdown was suspended, the total inpatient census of SARS-CoV-2-positive patients increased to 128, 20.3% of whom were hospitalized for non-COVID-19-related complaints.In the absence of a statewide lockdown, there was a significant increase in the proportion of patients admitted for non-COVID-19-related complaints who were incidentally found to be SARS-CoV-2-positive. In order to ensure data integrity, coding should distinguish between patients with COVID-19-related symptoms and asymptomatic patients carrying the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Asymptomatic Infections
/
Data Management
/
COVID-19
/
Hospitalization
Type of study:
Cohort study
/
Diagnostic study
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
/
Qualitative research
Limits:
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Language:
English
Journal:
Medicine (Baltimore)
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
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