Clinical and Transmission Characteristics of Covid-19 — A Retrospective Study of 25 Cases from a Single Thoracic Surgery Department (original) (raw)

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The outbreak of corona virus disease 2019 (Covid-19) imposes a major challenge in managing patients undergoing surgical operation. In this study, we analyzed clinical and transmission features of 25 cases of Covid-19 from a single thoracic department, including 13 patients and 12 health care staff. There were 13 males and 12 females. The median age of the patients was 61 (range: 51 to 69) years. The median age of the health care staff was 35 (range: 22 to 51) years. By the end of follow-up date (Mar. 3, 2020), there were 16 non-severe cases (64%) and 9 severe cases (36%), 5 cases were dead (20%). Nineteen (76%) of the infected cases were confirmed by SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid test, the rest were clinically diagnosed as suspected Covid-19 cases, and 19 (76%) of the infected cases had positive exposure history. We found that COPD was significantly associated with severity and death (_P_=0.040, and _P_=0.038, respectively), and chest operation was significantly associated with death for Covid-19 patients (_P_=0.039). A potential “super spreader” may be the source of the transmission before the implementation of quarantine and comprehensive protection. It was concluded that Covid-19 is associated with poor prognosis for patients undergoing thoracic operation, especially for those with COPD. Implementation of comprehensive protective measures is important to control nosocomial infection.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Thoracic Surgery, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China
    Yang-kai Li, Shu Peng, Le-qun Li, Qi Wang, Wei Ping, Ni Zhang & Xiang-ning Fu

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  1. Yang-kai Li
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  2. Shu Peng
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  3. Le-qun Li
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  4. Qi Wang
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  5. Wei Ping
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  6. Ni Zhang
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  7. Xiang-ning Fu
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Correspondence toXiang-ning Fu.

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We declare that we do not have any commercial or associative interest that represents a conflict of interest in connection with the manuscript we submitted.

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Li, Yk., Peng, S., Li, Lq. et al. Clinical and Transmission Characteristics of Covid-19 — A Retrospective Study of 25 Cases from a Single Thoracic Surgery Department.CURR MED SCI 40, 295–300 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11596-020-2176-2

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