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Factors Preventing Nosocomial Outbreak Following a Single case of COVID-19 Diagnosed During Hospitalization: A Retrospective Review

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 January 2022

I-Nae Park Open the ORCID record for I-Nae Park [Opens in a new window]
I-Nae Park*
Affiliation:
Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Inje University Seoul Paik Hospital, Seoul, Korea
*
Corresponding author: I-Nae Park, Email: [email protected].
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Abstract

Objective:

Our hospital experienced a hospital shutdown and 2 week quarantine after a case of COVID-19 was diagnosed during hospitalization. We analyzed the reopening process following hospital closure and possible factors that prevented hospital spread.

Methods:

We retrospectively reviewed the confirmed patient’s medical records and results of epidemiological survey available from the infection control team of our hospital.

Results:

A total of 117 hospital staff members were tested, 26 of whom were self-isolated. Of the 54 inpatients tested, 28 on the same floor, and 2 close contacts in the endoscopic room were quarantined in a single room. Finally, all quarantined hospital staff, inpatients and outpatients were tested for COVID-19 on the 14th day of close contact. The results were all negative, and the hospital work resumed completely.

Conclusion:

Although closing and isolating the hospital appeared to have played a useful role in preventing the spread of COVID-19 inside the hospital and to the local community, it is still debated whether or not the duration of hospital closure or quarantine was appropriate. The lessons from the 2-week hospital closure suggest that wearing a mask, hand hygiene and the ward environment are important factors in preventing nosocomial outbreaks of COVID-19.

Keywords

COVID-19nosocomialin-hospital transmissionSARS-CoV-2quarantine
Type
Original Research
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 17 , 2023 , e107
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc.

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