A Pilot Study of the Efficacy and Economical Sustainability of Acute Coronavirus Disease 2019 Patient Management in an Outpatient Setting

Autor: Rebecca De Lorenzo, Marco Montagna, Eleonora Bossi, Giordano Vitali, Alba Taino, Marta Cilla, Giulia Pata, Ludmilla Lazorova, Riccardo Pesenti, Chiara Pomaranzi, Cecilia Bussolari, Sabina Martinenghi, Nicoletta Bordonaro, Davide Di Napoli, Giuliano Rizzardini, Chiara Cogliati, Nuccia Morici, Patrizia Rovere-Querini
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2022
Předmět:
Zdroj: Frontiers in Medicine, Vol 9 (2022)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 2296-858X
DOI: 10.3389/fmed.2022.892962
Popis: ObjectiveTo report a preliminary experience of outpatient management of patients with Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) through an innovative approach of healthcare delivery.Patients and MethodsPatients evaluated at the Mild-to-Moderate COVID-19 Outpatient clinics (MMCOs) of San Raffaele University Hospital and Luigi Sacco University Hospital in Milan, Italy, from 1 October 2020 to 31 October 2021 were included. Patients were referred by general practitioners (GPs), Emergency Department (ED) physicians or hospital specialists (HS) in case of moderate COVID-19. A classification and regression tree (CART) model predicting ED referral by MMCO physicians was developed to aid GPs identify those deserving immediate ED admission. Cost-effectiveness analysis was also performed.ResultsA total of 660 patients were included. The majority (70%) was referred by GPs, 21% by the ED and 9% by HS. Patients referred by GPs had more severe disease as assessed by peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO2), ratio of arterial oxygen partial pressure to fractional inspired oxygen (PaO2/FiO2), C-reactive protein (CRP) levels and interstitial involvement at lung ultrasound. Among them, 18% were addressed to the ED following MMCO assessment. CART analysis identified three independent predictors, namely home-measured SpO2, age and body mass index (BMI), that robustly divide patients into risk groups of COVID-19 severity. Home-measured SpO2 < 95% and BMI ≥ 33 Kg/m2 defined the high-risk group. The model yielded an accuracy (95% CI) of 83 (77–88)%. Outpatient management of COVID-19 patients allowed the national healthcare system to spare 1,490,422.05 € when compared with inpatient care.ConclusionMild-to-moderate COVID-19 outpatient clinics were effective and sustainable in managing COVID-19 patients and allowed to alleviate pressure on EDs and hospital wards, favoring effort redirection toward non-COVID-19 patients.
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