Telemedicine for Upper Respiratory Tract Infections During 2018 Epidemiological Outbreak in South America

Abstract

Telemedicine is an increasingly used strategy for providing care to patients. The prevention and treatment of Upper Respiratory Tract Infections (URTIs) during outbreaks still require new management approaches. We aimed to describe patients' characteristics and the care process after the creation and implementation of a virtual care program for patients with URTI during the epidemiological outbreak. We studied all consultations that took place between May, 21st, and September, 14th 2018 at Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires (HIBA). After applying exclusion criteria 218 consultations were left for the analysis. Most patients did not need a referral to a care center for a face-to-face assessment. The consultation rate to the Emergency Department (ED) within 7 days was 11.92% (26/218) with a 95% CI of 7.94-16.99%. This new approach in patient care has a great potential for relieving the overcrowding in EDs, decreasing waiting times and preventing the infection spread in waiting rooms.

Keywords: telemedicine; upper respiratory tract infections.