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Ensuring trust in COVID-19 data: A retrospective cohort study
Daniel Antwi-Amoabeng1, Bryce D Beutler1, Gurpreet Chahal1
1Department of Internal Medicine, University of Nevada Reno School of Medicine, Reno, NV.
Medicine
|September 3, 2021
Summary
During COVID-19 lockdowns, few patients were hospitalized for reasons other than the disease. After lockdown suspension, more patients admitted for other reasons incidentally tested positive for SARS-CoV-2.
Area of Science:
- Infectious Diseases
- Public Health
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Standardized methods for collecting and reporting coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) data are lacking.
- Distinguishing between COVID-19 admissions and incidental SARS-CoV-2 findings is crucial for accurate data.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the proportion of hospitalized patients admitted for COVID-19-related symptoms versus those admitted for other reasons who incidentally tested positive for SARS-CoV-2.
- To assess the impact of a statewide lockdown on SARS-CoV-2 positivity rates among hospitalized patients.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective cohort study design.
- Data collected from a system-wide administrative database (COVID-19 dashboard) between March 26 and June 6, 2020.
- Patient charts were reviewed to abstract the principal reason for hospitalization.
Main Results:
- During lockdown, 4.3% of hospitalized SARS-CoV-2-positive patients were admitted for non-COVID-19 reasons.
- After lockdown suspension, this proportion increased to 20.3% among 128 SARS-CoV-2-positive inpatients.
- A significant increase in incidentally positive cases was observed post-lockdown.
Conclusions:
- The proportion of hospitalized patients incidentally testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 increased significantly after the suspension of a statewide lockdown.
- Coding practices should differentiate between COVID-19-related admissions and asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 carriers to ensure data integrity.
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