Disease severity classification and COVID-19 outcomes, Republic of Korea
- Title
- Disease severity classification and COVID-19 outcomes, Republic of Korea
- Author
- 손경복
- Issue Date
- 2021-01
- Publisher
- WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION
- Citation
- Bulletin of the World Health Organization (BULL WORLD HEALTH ORGAN), Jan2021; 99(1): 62-66. (5p)
- Abstract
- Problem The surge in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases overwhelmed the health system in the Republic of Korea.
Approach To help health-care workers prioritize treatment for patients with more severe disease and to decrease the burden on health
systems caused by COVID-19, the government established a system to classify disease severity. Health-care staff in city- and provincial-level
patient management teams classified the patients into the different categories according to the patients’ pulse, systolic blood pressure,
respiratory rate, body temperature and level of consciousness. Patients categorized as having moderate, severe and very severe disease
were promptly assigned to beds or negative-pressure isolation rooms for hospital treatment, while patients with mild symptoms were
monitored in 16 designated facilities across the country.
Local setting The case fatality rate was higher in the city of Daegu and the Gyeongsangbuk-do province (1.6%; 124/7756) than the rest
of the country (0.5%; 7/1485).
Relevant changes From 25 February to 26 March 2020, the ratio of negative-pressure isolation rooms per COVID-19 patient was below
0.15 in the city of Daegu and the Gyeongsangbuk-do province. In the rest of the country, this ratio decreased from 5.56 to 0.63 during the
same period. Before the classification system was in place, eight (15.7%) out of the 51 deaths occurred at home or during transfer from
home to health-care institutions.
Lessons learnt Categorizing patients according to their disease severity should be a prioritized measure to ease the burden on health
systems and reduce the case fatality rate.
- URI
- https://www.proquest.com/docview/2478619154?accountid=11283https://repository.hanyang.ac.kr/handle/20.500.11754/171913
- ISSN
- 0042-9686
- DOI
- 10.2471/BLT.20.257758
- Appears in Collections:
- COLLEGE OF PHARMACY[E](약학대학) > PHARMACY(약학과) > Articles
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