Are Hospitals Safe? A Prospective Study on SARS-CoV-2 Prevalence and Outcome on Surgical Fracture Patients: A Closer Look at Hip Fracture Patients.
J Orthop Trauma
; 34(10): e371-e376, 2020 10.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-641635
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES:
To describe clinical characteristics of fracture patients, including a closer look to hip fracture patients, and determine how epidemiological variables may have influenced on a higher vulnerability to SARS-CoV-2 infection, as the basis for the considerations needed to reintroduce elective surgery during the pandemic.DESIGN:
Longitudinal prospective cohort study.SETTING:
Level I Trauma Center in the East of Spain. PATIENTS/PARTICIPANTS:
One hundred forty-four consecutive fracture patients 18 years or older admitted for surgery. INTERVENTION Patients were tested for SARS-CoV-2 with either molecular and/or serological techniques and screened for presentation of COVID-19. MAIN OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS Patients were interviewed and charts reviewed for demographic, epidemiological, clinical, and surgical characteristics.RESULTS:
We interviewed all patients and tested 137 (95.7%) of them. Three positive patients for SARS-CoV-2 were identified (2.1%). One was asymptomatic and the other 2 required admission due to COVID-19-related symptoms. Mortality for the whole cohort was 13 patients (9%). Significant association was found between infection by SARS-CoV-2 and epidemiological variables including intimate exposure to respiratory symptomatic patients (P = 0.025) and intimate exposure to SARS-CoV-2-positive patients (P = 0.013). No association was found when crowding above 50 people was tested individually (P = 0.187). When comparing the 2020 and 2019 hip fracture cohorts we found them to be similar, including 30-day mortality. A significant increase in surgical delay from 1.5 to 1.8 days was observed on the 2020 patients (P = 0.034).CONCLUSIONS:
Patients may be treated safely at hospitals if strict recommendations are followed. Both cohorts of hip fracture patients had similar 30-day mortality. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Prognostic Level III. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Pneumonia, Viral
/
Coronavirus Infections
/
Patient Safety
/
Betacoronavirus
/
Fracture Fixation
/
Hip Fractures
/
Hospitals
Type of study:
Cohort study
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
Topics:
Long Covid
Limits:
Adolescent
/
Adult
/
Aged
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
/
Young adult
Country/Region as subject:
Europa
Language:
English
Journal:
J Orthop Trauma
Journal subject:
Orthopedics
/
Traumatology
Year:
2020
Document Type:
Article
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