J Korean Med Assoc.  2022 Jun;65(6):377-385. 10.5124/jkma.2022.65.6.377.

Risk factors for the deterioration of patients with mild COVID-19 admitted to a COVID-19 community treatment center

• Lee SY
• Song KJ
• Lim CS
• Chai YJ
• Lee SY
• Lee SGW

• KMID: 2531608
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5124/jkma.2022.65.6.377

Abstract

Background
The rapid increase in the number of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients led to the operation of COVID-19 facilities for patients with mild COVID-19 in South Korea. We analyzed the correlation and effect of risk factors associated with the worsening of patients with mild COVID-19 leading to their transfer from a community treatment center to a hospital.
Methods
This retrospective cohort observational study included 1,208 COVID-19 patients with mild symptoms who were admitted to the Namsan Community Treatment Center between June 2020 and January 2021. A chi-square test was performed to examine the differences in the transfer rate by age, sex, nationality, presence of symptoms at admission, and season, and a multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to examine the association of variables to the hospitalization rate.
Results
Of the 1,208 patients, 212 (17.5%) were transferred to a hospital due to clinical deterioration. Increasing odds of hospital transfer were associated significantly with higher age and presentation in autumn, whereas sex and symptomatic illness at admission did not show a statistically significant association.
Conclusion
The findings indicate the importance of the initial risk classification of COVID-19 patients based on thorough assessment and close monitoring, timely allocation of appropriate resources to high-risk groups that are likely to develop severe disease, and reduction of medical resource wastage and limiting of administrative force to ensure that patients receive the best treatment.

Keyword

COVID-19; Triage; Risk factors; Severity of illness index; 코로나바이러스감염증-19; 환자분류; 위험요인; 질병중증도