Epidemiological profile and performance of triage decision-making process of COVID-19 suspected cases in southern Tunisia
Introduction: During an epidemic, screening processes can play a crucial role in limiting the spread of the infection. The aim of this study was to describe the epidemiological profile of COVID-19 suspected cases and to evaluate the performance of the triage process in predicting COVID-19 in Souther...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2022-03-01
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| Series: | African Journal of Emergency Medicine |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211419X21000677 |
| _version_ | 1811300474259767296 |
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| author | Maissa Ben Jmaa Houda Ben Ayed Mondher Kassis Mariem Ben Hmida Maroua Trigui Hanen Maamri Nouha Ketata Sourour Yaich Jihene Trabelsi Yosra Mejdoub Manel Turki Chakib Marrakchi Sami Kammoun Mounir Ben Jemaa Habib Feki Jamel Damak |
| author_facet | Maissa Ben Jmaa Houda Ben Ayed Mondher Kassis Mariem Ben Hmida Maroua Trigui Hanen Maamri Nouha Ketata Sourour Yaich Jihene Trabelsi Yosra Mejdoub Manel Turki Chakib Marrakchi Sami Kammoun Mounir Ben Jemaa Habib Feki Jamel Damak |
| author_sort | Maissa Ben Jmaa |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Introduction: During an epidemic, screening processes can play a crucial role in limiting the spread of the infection. The aim of this study was to describe the epidemiological profile of COVID-19 suspected cases and to evaluate the performance of the triage process in predicting COVID-19 in Southern Tunisia. Methods: It was a prospective study including all patients consulting to the Hedi Chaker University Hospital departments from March to June 2020. A clinical triage score (CTS) was used to assess the risk of the infection and to refer patients to the appropriate part of the facility accordingly. Results: Overall, 862 patients were enrolled, among whom 505 patients (58.6%) were classified as suspected cases (CTS ≥4). Of these, 46.9% (n = 237) were of mild form. Samples were collected from 215 patients (24.9%), among whom five were COVID-19 positive, representing a positive rate of 2.3%. The in-hospital cumulative incidence rate of COVID-19 was 580/100000 patients. The total daily incidence decreased significantly during the study period (p < 0.001, chi-square for linear trend = 25.6). At a cut-off of four, the CTS had a sensitivity of 40%, a specificity of 32.4%, and negative and positive predictive values of 95.8% and 1.4%, respectively. Discussion: Although the triage process based on the CTS was not as performant as the RT-PCR, it was crucial to interrupt virus spread among hospitalized patients in “COVID-19-free departments”. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T06:51:46Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d9953f868e204a3da85549f51339eafd |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2211-419X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T06:51:46Z |
| publishDate | 2022-03-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | African Journal of Emergency Medicine |
| spelling | doaj.art-d9953f868e204a3da85549f51339eafd2022-12-22T02:57:23ZengElsevierAfrican Journal of Emergency Medicine2211-419X2022-03-0112116Epidemiological profile and performance of triage decision-making process of COVID-19 suspected cases in southern TunisiaMaissa Ben Jmaa0Houda Ben Ayed1Mondher Kassis2Mariem Ben Hmida3Maroua Trigui4Hanen Maamri5Nouha Ketata6Sourour Yaich7Jihene Trabelsi8Yosra Mejdoub9Manel Turki10Chakib Marrakchi11Sami Kammoun12Mounir Ben Jemaa13Habib Feki14Jamel Damak15Preventive Medicine and Hygiene Department, Hedi Chaker University Hospital, University of Sfax, Tunisia; Corresponding author.Preventive Medicine and Hygiene Department, Hedi Chaker University Hospital, University of Sfax, TunisiaDepartment of Social Medicine, Faculty of Medicine of Sfax, University of Sfax, TunisiaDepartment of Social Medicine, Faculty of Medicine of Sfax, University of Sfax, TunisiaCommunity Health and Epidemiology Department, Hedi Chaker University Hospital, University of Sfax, TunisiaCommunity Health and Epidemiology Department, Hedi Chaker University Hospital, University of Sfax, TunisiaPreventive Medicine and Hygiene Department, Hedi Chaker University Hospital, University of Sfax, TunisiaCommunity Health and Epidemiology Department, Hedi Chaker University Hospital, University of Sfax, TunisiaCommunity Health and Epidemiology Department, Hedi Chaker University Hospital, University of Sfax, TunisiaCommunity Health and Epidemiology Department, Hedi Chaker University Hospital, University of Sfax, TunisiaDepartment of Pharmacy, Hedi Chaker University Hospital, Sfax, TunisiaInfectious Diseases Department, Hedi Chaker University Hospital, University of Sfax, TunisiaDepartment of Pneumology, Hedi Chaker University Hospital, Sfax, TunisiaInfectious Diseases Department, Hedi Chaker University Hospital, University of Sfax, TunisiaPreventive Medicine and Hygiene Department, Hedi Chaker University Hospital, University of Sfax, TunisiaCommunity Health and Epidemiology Department, Hedi Chaker University Hospital, University of Sfax, TunisiaIntroduction: During an epidemic, screening processes can play a crucial role in limiting the spread of the infection. The aim of this study was to describe the epidemiological profile of COVID-19 suspected cases and to evaluate the performance of the triage process in predicting COVID-19 in Southern Tunisia. Methods: It was a prospective study including all patients consulting to the Hedi Chaker University Hospital departments from March to June 2020. A clinical triage score (CTS) was used to assess the risk of the infection and to refer patients to the appropriate part of the facility accordingly. Results: Overall, 862 patients were enrolled, among whom 505 patients (58.6%) were classified as suspected cases (CTS ≥4). Of these, 46.9% (n = 237) were of mild form. Samples were collected from 215 patients (24.9%), among whom five were COVID-19 positive, representing a positive rate of 2.3%. The in-hospital cumulative incidence rate of COVID-19 was 580/100000 patients. The total daily incidence decreased significantly during the study period (p < 0.001, chi-square for linear trend = 25.6). At a cut-off of four, the CTS had a sensitivity of 40%, a specificity of 32.4%, and negative and positive predictive values of 95.8% and 1.4%, respectively. Discussion: Although the triage process based on the CTS was not as performant as the RT-PCR, it was crucial to interrupt virus spread among hospitalized patients in “COVID-19-free departments”.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211419X21000677COVID-19EpidemiologyScoreTriageTrends |
| spellingShingle | Maissa Ben Jmaa Houda Ben Ayed Mondher Kassis Mariem Ben Hmida Maroua Trigui Hanen Maamri Nouha Ketata Sourour Yaich Jihene Trabelsi Yosra Mejdoub Manel Turki Chakib Marrakchi Sami Kammoun Mounir Ben Jemaa Habib Feki Jamel Damak Epidemiological profile and performance of triage decision-making process of COVID-19 suspected cases in southern Tunisia African Journal of Emergency Medicine COVID-19 Epidemiology Score Triage Trends |
| title | Epidemiological profile and performance of triage decision-making process of COVID-19 suspected cases in southern Tunisia |
| title_full | Epidemiological profile and performance of triage decision-making process of COVID-19 suspected cases in southern Tunisia |
| title_fullStr | Epidemiological profile and performance of triage decision-making process of COVID-19 suspected cases in southern Tunisia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Epidemiological profile and performance of triage decision-making process of COVID-19 suspected cases in southern Tunisia |
| title_short | Epidemiological profile and performance of triage decision-making process of COVID-19 suspected cases in southern Tunisia |
| title_sort | epidemiological profile and performance of triage decision making process of covid 19 suspected cases in southern tunisia |
| topic | COVID-19 Epidemiology Score Triage Trends |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211419X21000677 |
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