| Title: | A retrospective observational study of admission rate during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and re-admission rate in UL Hospitals Group (ULHG), Mid West, Ireland. |
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| Author(s): | B Okpaje, G Bennett, MK Rana, S Shahsavari, A Farrell, TK Teoh, A O’Brien |
| Institution: | UNIVERSITY OF LIMERICK |
| Poster: | Click to view poster |
| Category: | COVID 19 |
| Abstract: | The Coronavirus disease caused by the severe acute respiratory coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), yielded an outbreak which begun in 2019. The first established case of COVID-19 in Ireland was in February 2020 and in the ensuing months, many patients suffering from the virus required admission. Although majority of positive cases were managed in the community, 12.9% of cases required hospitalisation in Ireland. In this retrospective observational study, we reviewed the electronic records of SARS-CoV-2 positive cases, aged at or above 18 years, admitted to University Limerick Hospital Group within March 1st to May 31st, 2020. Positivity was confirmed with polymerase chain reaction testing of nasopharyngeal/ sputum samples. The rate of hospital admission within this three month span was recorded and from this data, we reviewed the rate of re-admission into hospital. From the total of 540 cases reviewed, 46.3% (250/540) required hospital admission within March 1st and May 31st. Of this hospitalised group, 31.6% (79/250) of hospitalised cases required re-admission to hospital in the subsequent months. 36.7% (29/79) of re-admitted cases occurred within the first 3 months post discharge. Approximately 13.2% (33/250) were deceased post COVID-19 infection. Almost 50% of positive cases, required hospital admission in the first wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic in ULHG. It is concerning that, approximately a third of those cases required re-admission, with the highest peak falling within three months of discharge from hospital. This highlights the need for a formal pathway of post-discharge care for patients infected with COVID-19 in the Mid-West. |
