Screening and managing of suspected or confirmed novel coronavirus (COVID-19) patients: experiences from a tertiary hospital outside Hubei province

Objectives: To report our experiences screening and managing patients with suspected or confirmed novel coronavirus (COVID-19) disease using a hospital-specific protocol. Design: Longitudinal cohort study. Setting: A 1,200 bed tertiary care teaching hospital in Chengdu, Sichuan, China. Participants: 802 adults presenting to hospital with concerns of having COVID-19, 1,246 inpatients and 2,531 hospital visitors. Interventions: Screening and management of patients using a hospital-specific protocol, which included fever triage, monitoring visitors and patients, emergency response, personnel training for healthcare team members, health education for patients and family, medical materials management, disinfection and wastes disposal protocols. Results: Between 23 January and 28 February 2020, 73 people were identified as having fever plus respiratory signs with/without a history of exposure and were tested for the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) by our hospital lab using RT PCR. Forty-five of these 73 people were subsequently excluded based on one negative RT PCR result plus positive results to quick screening tests for flu or other respiratory viruses. The remaining 28 people received a second RT PCR test 24 h later. Three people (all hospital visitors) were confirmed positive for COVID-19 based on two consecutive positive RT PCR tests whilst 25 people were excluded based on two consecutive negative tests. The three COVID-19 confirmed cases received non-critical care. There were no new infections of medical staff or new infections of other hospital inpatients. Conclusions: All three cases were detected as a result of vigilant monitoring of hospital visitors. Whilst screening out-patients presenting to a fever clinic remains important, monitoring visitors must not be overlooked.