Clinical value of outpatient screening in department of general surgery during the COVID-19 outbreak / 中华消化外科杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To investigate the clinical value of outpatient screening in department of general surgery during the Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak.Methods:The retrospective and descriptive study was conducted. The clinical data of 57 patients who visited surgery clinic and emergency department of Union Hospital Affiliated to Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of Science and Technology between February 1st and 26th in 2020 were collected. There were 30 males and 27 females, aged (53±16)years, with a range from 17 to 87 years. All the 57 patients were measured score of outpatient screening in department of general surgery. The score ≥3 indicated high risk and the score < 3 indicated low risk. Observation indicators (1) clinical data of patients; (2) score of outpatient screening for COVID-19 of patients. Measurement data with normal distribution were represented as Mean± SD, and comparison between groups was analyzed by the t test. Measurement data with skewed distribution were described as M (IQR), and comparison between groups was analyzed by the rank sum test. Count data were described as absolute numbers, and comparison between groups was analyzed using the chi-square test. Results:(1) Clinical data of patients of the 57 patients, there were 12 males and 14 females of the 26 confirmed or suspected cases, versus 18 males and 13 females of the 31 non-infection cases, showing no significant difference between the two groups ( χ2=0.805, P>0.05). The 26 confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19 had an age of (57±16)years, and 31 non-infection cases had an age of (50±16) years, with no significant difference between the two groups ( t=-1.646, P>0.05). (2) Score of outpatient screening for COVID-19 of patients the score of outpatient screening for COVID-19 of the 26 confirmed or suspected cases was 3.0(4.0), versus 1.0(1.0) of the 31 non-infection cases, showing a significant difference between the two groups ( Z=-3.695, P<0.05). There were 17 and 9 of the 26 confirmed or suspected cases with high risks and low risks, respectively, versus 3 and 28 of the 31 non-infection cases, with a significant difference between the two groups ( χ2=19.266, P<0.05). Conclusion:During the COVID-19 outbreak, outpatient screening in department of general surgery can effectively screen out high-risk patients.