RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Home quarantine in COVID-19: A study on 50 consecutive patients in Austria
JF Clinical Medicine
JO Clin Med
FD Royal College of Physicians
SP e9
OP e13
DO 10.7861/clinmed.2020-0787
VO 21
IS 1
A1 Sarah Gietl
A1 Carmen M Schönegger
A1 Markus Falk
A1 Stefanie Weiler
A1 Simone Obererlacher
A1 Bianca Jansen
A1 Sissy-Therese Sonnleitner
A1 Gernot Walder
YR 2021
UL http://www.rcpjournals.org/content/21/1/e9.abstract
AB A cohort of the first 50 COVID-19 patients in East Tyrol, a region in the southwest of Austria, were monitored in home quarantine. Specific viral ribonucleic acid was detected in throat swabs and stool samples. Analysis indicated a median virus shedding duration of 13 days; however, statistical outliers highlight the importance of consequent testing. This underlines the need of negative throat swabs prior to removing quarantine. We monitored the disease's characteristics via an in-house score called Corona Severity Index, in order to predict an aggravation of the disease. Special attention was paid to early symptoms, such as headache, which appeared to be significantly more common in younger patients (p=0.019). Anosmia and ageusia showed a predominance in female patients (p=0.028). Investigation revealed seven relapses and viral shedding fluctuation in four cases. A follow-up examination shed light on seroconversion which could be observed in 35 of 40 participants. This further clarifies the necessity of establishing discharge standards and follow-up management for COVID-19 patients.