ABSTRACT
Improved technology facilitates the acceptance of telemedicine. The aim was to analyze the effectiveness of telephone follow-up to detect severe SARS-CoV-2 cases that progressed to pneumonia. A prospective cohort study with 2-week telephone follow-up was carried out March 1 to May 4, 2020, in a primary healthcare center in Barcelona. Individuals aged ≥15 years with symptoms of SARS-CoV-2 were included. Outpatients with non-severe disease were called on days 2, 4, 7, 10 and 14 after diagnosis; patients with risk factors for pneumonia received daily calls through day 5 and then the regularly scheduled calls. Patients hospitalized due to pneumonia received calls on days 1, 3, 7 and 14 post-discharge. Of the 453 included patients, 435 (96%) were first attended to at a primary healthcare center. The 14-day follow-up was completed in 430 patients (99%), with 1798 calls performed. Of the 99 cases of pneumonia detected (incidence rate 20.8%), one-third appeared 7 to 10 days after onset of SARS-CoV-2 symptoms. Ten deaths due to pneumonia were recorded. Telephone follow-up by a primary healthcare center was effective to detect SARS-CoV-2 pneumonias and to monitor related complications. Thus, telephone appointments between a patient and their health care practitioner benefit both health outcomes and convenience.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The impact of the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has many facets. This ecological study analysed age-standardized incidence rates by economic level in Barcelona. METHODS: We evaluated confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Barcelona (Spain) between 26 February 2020 and 19 April 2020. Districts were classified according to most recent (2017) mean income data. The reference for estimating age-standardized cumulative incidence rates was the 2018 European population. The association between incidence rate and mean income by district was estimated with the Spearman rho. RESULTS: The lower the mean income, the higher the COVID-19 incidence (Spearman rho = 0.83; P value = 0.003). Districts with the lowest mean income had the highest incidence of COVID-19 per 10 000 inhabitants; in contrast, those with the highest income had the lowest incidence. Specifically, the district with the lowest income had 2.5 times greater incidence of the disease, compared with the highest-income district [70 (95% confidence interval 66-73) versus 28 (25-31), respectively]. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of COVID-19 showed an inverse socioeconomic gradient by mean income in the 10 districts of the city of Barcelona. Beyond healthcare for people with the disease, attention must focus on a health strategy for the whole population, particularly in the most deprived areas.
