Demographic and Clinical Characteristics and the Outcome of Patients with COVID-19 Treated with Temporary Hospitalization Approach

Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that cause severe respiratory infections. About 15% of affected patients need hospitalization. By the high number of COVID-19 patients in need of hospitalization a high percentage of beds are occupied, so the management of hospital beds seems necessary.

A descriptive-analytical study was carried out between June 22 and August 22, 2021 in 40 hospitals under the auspices of Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences. Data were extracted from the Patient Information System and the records of patients with COVID-19 who received injectable drugs according to the national treatment protocol for temporary hospitalization. Descriptive statistics were applied in Excel 2010 and SPSS V24.

Total number of COVID-19 patients was 34,835 of whom 14,415 (41.38%) were admitted as temporary patients. Among these, 1802 (12.50%) were permanently hospitalized, of whom 12,536 (86.96%) were discharged with relative improvements and 77 (0.54%) patients died. Most patients aged 41 to 60 years old (44.16%).

The national treatment protocol for temporary hospitalization was found to be highly efficient during crisis and can help in bed management, human resources, surge capacity, and reduce many of the costs of the health system.