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. 2021 Feb;49(2):143-150.
doi: 10.1016/j.ajic.2020.07.014. Epub 2020 Jul 11.

Epidemiological characteristics of the COVID-19 outbreak in a secondary hospital in Spain

Christine Giesen  1 , Laura Diez-Izquierdo  2 , Carmen María Saa-Requejo  2 , Inmaculada Lopez-Carrillo  2 , Carmen Alejandra Lopez-Vilela  2 , Alicia Seco-Martinez  2 , María Teresa Ramirez Prieto  3 , Eduardo Malmierca  4 , Cristina Garcia-Fernandez  5 ; COVID Epidemiological Surveillance and Control Study Group
Affiliations

Epidemiological characteristics of the COVID-19 outbreak in a secondary hospital in Spain

Christine Giesen et al. Am J Infect Control. 2021 Feb.

Abstract

Objectives: In 2019 Chinese authorities alerted of the appearance of a cluster of cases of unknown pneumonia related to a new type of coronavirus. Spain is among the most affected countries. Our aim is to describe the cases of COVID-19 at Infanta Sofía University Hospital (Madrid), a public secondary hospital that increased its hospital beds to provide assistance during the outbreak.

Methods: Retrospective descriptive study of cases that met COVID-19 clinical diagnosis criteria or had a positive PCR test from February 27 to June 29, 2020. A description of demographic variables, hospital stay, mortality and the epidemiological curve was performed.

Results: Of 1,828 confirmed cases, 64.4% were hospitalised, 5.6% were admitted to the ICU. About 52.2% were male. The median age was 63.2 years. About 13.1% were nursing home residents. Nineteen percent were of Latin American origin of which 6.8% were admitted to the ICU. Overall case fatality was 14.6%. We observed a biphasic epidemiological curve.

Conclusions: Sixty to 79-year-old males were admitted and deceased more often than women. Mortality reached 14.7%. Latin Americans were admitted more often to the ICU. Further studies about epidemiological characteristics of COVID-19 in hospitals are necessary.

Keywords: Coronavirus infections; Epidemiology; Hospital; Infection control; Pandemics; SARS-CoV-2.

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Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1
Process of declaring outbreaks of communicable diseases in Spain. Source: own elaboration based on the Royal Decree 2210/1995, of December 28, creating the National Epidemiological Surveillance Network.
Fig 2
Fig 2
Data collection process and data sources. Preventive Medicine Department (PMD). Polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Source: own elaboration.
Fig 3
Fig 3
Identification and numbers of confirmed cases algorithm. Source: own elaboration.
Fig 4
Fig 4
Age distribution and hospitalisation status of confirmed cases through June 29. A total of 1,828 cases is shown and nonhospitalised cases (blue) are compared to admitted cases (green), ICU-admitted cases (yellow), and deceased cases (red). Source: own elaboration.
Fig 5
Fig 5
Distribution of country of birth of confirmed cases through June 29. A total of 1,828 cases is shown. Source: own elaboration.
Fig 6
Fig 6
Epidemiological curves of COVID-19 at Infanta Sofía University Hospital through June 29. The epidemiological curve shows the progression of diagnosis of new cases in the outbreak over time from February 27 to June 29. A total of 1,828 cases are shown and confirmed cases (blue) are compared to admitted cases (green), ICU-admitted cases (yellow), and deceased cases (red). The line represents the trend and the dots total daily cases. Source: own elaboration.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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