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. 2020 Apr 6;35(13):e140.
doi: 10.3346/jkms.2020.35.e140.

Out-of-Hospital Cohort Treatment of Coronavirus Disease 2019 Patients with Mild Symptoms in Korea: an Experience from a Single Community Treatment Center

Peong Gang Park  1 , Chang Hyup Kim  2 , Yoon Heo  3 , Tae Suk Kim  4 , Chan Woo Park  5 , Choong Hyo Kim  6
Affiliations

Out-of-Hospital Cohort Treatment of Coronavirus Disease 2019 Patients with Mild Symptoms in Korea: an Experience from a Single Community Treatment Center

Peong Gang Park et al. J Korean Med Sci. .

Abstract

The outbreak of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused a worldwide pandemic. Less than 6 weeks after the first confirmed cases in Korea, the patient number exceeded 5,000, which overcrowded limited hospital resources and forced confirmed patients to stay at home. To allocate medical resources efficiently, Korea implemented a novel institution for the purpose of treating patients with cohort isolation out of hospital, namely the Community Treatment Center (CTC). Herein, we report results of the initial management of patients at one of the largest CTC in Korea. A total of 309 patients were admitted to our CTC. During the first two weeks, 7 patients were transferred to the hospital because of symptom aggravation and 107 patients were discharged without any complication. Although it is a novel concept and may have some limitations, CTC may be a very cost-effective and resource-saving strategy in managing massive cases of COVID-19 or other emerging infectious diseases.

Keywords: COVID-19; Community Treatment Center; Medical Resources; SARS-CoV-2.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no potential conflicts of interest to disclose.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1. Illustration of Gyeongbuk-Daegu 7 CTC. Arrows indicate the movement direction of healthcare providers.
CTC = community treatment center.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2. Monitoring body temperature and symptoms of patients using specialized mobile application (inPHR®, SoftNet, Seoul, Korea).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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