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Observational Study
. 2020 Nov;20(6):e229-e233.
doi: 10.7861/clinmed.2020-0483. Epub 2020 Sep 22.

How COVID-19 has changed the unselected medical take: an observational study

Kai Man Alexander Ho  1 , Ananthi Anandhakrishnan  2 , Arun Mahay  2 , Yiwen Soo  2 , Laurence B Lovat  3 , Andrew P Rochford  2
Affiliations
Observational Study

How COVID-19 has changed the unselected medical take: an observational study

Kai Man Alexander Ho et al. Clin Med (Lond). 2020 Nov.

Abstract

Introduction: COVID-19 has had a profound effect on the NHS. Little information has been published as to how the unselected medical take has been affected.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed patients who were referred to general medicine during March 2020. We compared clinical outcomes of patients with and without COVID-19.

Results: 814 patients were included, comprising 777 unique patients. On average, 26 patients were admitted per day. 38% of admitted patients were suspected of COVID-19, with greater numbers of COVID-19 patients in the second half compared to the first half of the month (p<0.001). Logistic regression analyses showed suspected COVID-19 was an independent predictor for inpatient mortality (odds ratio [OR] = 6.09, p<0.001) and 30-day mortality (OR = 4.66, p<0.001).

Conclusions: COVID-19 patients had worse clinical outcomes and increased healthcare use compared to non-COVID-19 patients. Our study highlights some of the challenges in healthcare provision faced during this pandemic.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; medical admissions; medical take.

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Figures

Fig 1.
Fig 1.
Number of admissions by day in March, categorised by whether the admission was COVID-19-related or not.
Fig 2.
Fig 2.
Admitting diagnoses during the month of March grouped by specialty.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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