| Popis: |
INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study was to examine the demographic characteristics of possible and definitively diagnosed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients transported by ambulance through the national 112 emergency health services telephone number. METHODS: This study was conducted retrospectively using data from patients diagnosed with or suspected of having COVID-19 who were transported to hospital in Ankara by ambulance. Calls to the 112 emergency services call center between March 11, 2020 and May 11, 2020 were examined, and all of the relevant patients over the age of 18 transported by ambulance were included in the study. RESULTS: Ambulances were dispatched to 107,173 cases during the study period. In all, 11,345 possible COVID-19 cases were transferred to hospitals and 856 (7.5%) of these patients were subsequently diagnosed with COVID-19 based on a polymerase chain reaction test. Of the patients diagnosed with COVID-19, 50.6% were women. The mean age of the entire group was 50.6+or-18.7 years. The triage code of the COVID-19-positive patients was 57.1% yellow, 37.1% green, and 5.7% red. Urban residents constituted 95.7% of the patients with a positive COVID-19 diagnosis. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome 2 virus, which causes COVID-19, spread quickly and was declared a pandemic in early 2020. The rapidly increasing case numbers and the high morbidity rate caused widespread anxiety. Descriptive data, such as age and gender distribution, sociocultural characteristics, and symptoms, of patients attended to by emergency medical service units will help to determine prevalence and risk, and provide important information for public health management. |
