COVID-19 Cases Admitted to Hospital for Other Reasons

ABSTRACT

Introduction: As the pandemic continues, SARS-CoV-2 infection has inevitably been detected in patients hospitalized for other reasons. Detection of SARS-CoV-2 infected cases after hospitalization may lead to delay in taking appropriate infection control measures. Materials and Methods: The present study retrospectively scanned all electronic and hard copy records of the cases presented to the hospital and hospitalized for other reasons and then diagnosed as COV1D-19 in Suleyman Demirel University Faculty of Medicine, Research and Training Hospital between 01 April 2020 and 31 December 2020. Results: Accordingly, 22 cases were decided as community-acquired, 3 cases as probable community-acquired, 5 cases as hospital-acquired, and 4 cases as probable hospital-acquired. The reason for sampling for SARS-CoV-2 was determined as having symptoms compatible with COVID-19 in 23 (67.6%) of 34 cases, preoperative screening of COVID-19 infection in 9 (26.5%), and high risky contact in 2 cases (5.9%). Considering contact histories epidemiologically, it was thought that transmission occurred to 8 healthcare staff from 2 cases, and to other patients or relatives from 8 cases, but sequence analysis could not be performed. Conclusion: The high number of hospitalized patients diagnosed as COVID-19 creates a significant burden on the healthcare system in terms of infrastructure and management capacity. It is recommended that patients and healthcare professionals be screened widely and thoroughly, especially in conditions where COVID-19 cases are detected in non-COVID-1 9 units. This kind of screening will allow the potential outbreak to be controlled.