Physician
Lone Wulff Madsen
Unit for Infectious Diseases, Department of medicine, Sygehus Lillebælt, Kolding, Denmark
| Project management | ||
| Project status | Open | |
| Data collection dates | ||
| Start | 12.11.2023 | |
| End | 30.04.2025 | |
Assessment of the necessity of isolation in patients with suspected infectious respiratory viruses in the emergency department at Sygehus Lillebælt
Short summary
The goal of the project is to determine if there is an overuse of isolation rooms in the emergency department at Lillebælt Hospital. This will be done by following isolated patients with contagious respiratory viruses during their admission. Samples will be analyzed for the presence of infectious virus and the individual patient's immunological response will be monitored. The goal is to make better evidence-based guidelines for the use of isolation rooms.
Rationale
Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, one major task has been to prevent an overload of the healthcare system. One tool to prevent spreading of the virus, is the use of isolation rooms. Decisions regarding whether a patient should be isolated or not, is up to the individual physician and typically based on PCR results and symptoms. However, PCR cannot distinguish between infectious and inactive virus, and some patients don't follow the general trend when it comes to symptoms. The only way to analyze the amount of infectious virus in a sample, is by culturing the sample in live cell cultures. Viral culture requires special laboratory facilities, which are only present a few places in Denmark, including at the department of Clinical Microbiology at Odense University Hospital. In this study, the main goal is to evaluate if the use of isolation can be optimized.
Description of the cohort
The project will include patients >50 years admitted to the emergency department at Lillebælt Hospital with suspected infection with contagious respiratory viruses.
Data and biological material
Oropharyngeal swab samples and blood will be collected thrice weekly. Clinical data will include vaccination status, comorbidities, medication, and coinfections. The patients will be asked about previous SARS-CoV-2 infections and symptoms. Further, a selected number of patients will be asked to participate in a qualitative interview about their experience of being isolated.
Collaborating researchers and departments
Department of Clinical Microbiology, Odense University Hospital