Characteristics, Clinical Outcomes and Psychological Experiences of Patients Hospitalized in a Field Hospital Dedicated for COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia

Mohammed Alrawi^1, , Olayan Alfraidi¹, Khalid H. Alanazi¹, Emad Khadawardi², Rustom Bashtawi², Hanan Hathout¹, Mervat Eladlatouni¹, Abu Baker AlJifri¹, Moteb AlSaedi² and Saad Almohammadi¹

¹Ministry of Health, Saudi Arabia

²King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, Madinah

Cite this paper:
Mohammed Alrawi, Olayan Alfraidi, Khalid H. Alanazi, Emad Khadawardi, Rustom Bashtawi, Hanan Hathout, Mervat Eladlatouni, Abu Baker AlJifri, Moteb AlSaedi and Saad Almohammadi. Characteristics, Clinical Outcomes and Psychological Experiences of Patients Hospitalized in a Field Hospital Dedicated for COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia. American Journal of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology. 2021; 9(1):20-24. doi: 10.12691/ajidm-9-1-5

Abstract

Objective: To explore the characteristics, clinical outcomes and psychological experience of patients infected with COVID-19 admitted to a field hospital in Madinah, Saudi Arabia. Methodology: Medical records of patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 who were hospitalized in the COVID-19 field hospital in Madinah, Saudi Arabia from July 20 to November 9, 2020 were reviewed. Clinical features and outcomes of patients were collected for analysis. A telephonic questionnaire was used to explore the hospital stay experience of COVID-19 discharged patients. Results: A total of 208 patients were included (mean age, 51.5 years; range 26-85 years; 76.9% male). The most common comorbidities were diabetes (106; 50.96%) and hypertension (81; 38.94%). On admission, all patients (n= 208, 100%) had pneumonia, 40.86% were febrile, and 47.11% of patients had an oxygen saturation level below 93%. Headache and fatigue were also documented among 37% and 30% of all patients respectively on admission. During the study period, only one patient died in the center. Analysis of psychological experience of 81 patients showed that 45.68% of patients rejected the idea of receiving care in a hospital dedicated for COVID-19. However, the patients’ attitude toward their experience changed from negative to finally quite positive about the care they received. Conclusion: Field hospitals can be effectively used to provide care for COVID-19 patients with good clinical outcomes. Appropriate psychological interventions are required to change the patients’ attitude towards such settings and improve the hospital stay experience.

Keywords:
COVID-19 Field Hospital patient experience clinical outcomes

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

References:

[1]	Report of Clustering Pneumonia of Unknown Etiology in Wuhan City. Wuhan Municipal Health Commission; 2019. http://wjw.wuhan.gov.cn/front/web/ showDetail/2019123108989.
[2]	WHO. WHO Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Dashboard. World Health Organization. Published Nov 9, 2020. Available at: https://covid19.who.int/ Accessed Nov 9, 2020
[3]	World Health Organization. Statement on the second meeting of the International Health Regulations (2005) Emergency Committee regarding the outbreak of novel coronavirus (2019- nCoV). [Updated 2020 January 30. Cited 2020 Nov 9]. Available from URL: https://www.who.int/news/item/30-01-2020-statement- on-the-second-meeting-of-the-international-health-regulations- (2005)-emergency-committee-regarding-the-outbreak-of-novel- coronavirus-(2019-ncov).
[4]	World Health Organization. WHO Director-General’s opening remarks at the media briefing on COVID-19 - 11 March 2020. [Updated 2020 March 11. Cited 2020 Nov 9.] Available from URL: https://www.who.int/director-general/speeches/detail/who- director-general-s-opening-remarks-at-the-media-briefing-on- covid-19---11-march-2020.
[5]	MOH News - MOH Reports First Case of Coronavirus Infection. (2020). Retrieved Nov 9 2020. Available: https://www.moh.gov.sa/en/Ministry/MediaCenter/News/Pages/N ews-2020-03-02-002.aspx.
[6]	MOH, 2020b MOH, 2020. COVID 19 Dashboard: Saudi Arabia. Retrieved Nov 9 2020. Available at: https://covid19.moh.gov.sa
[7]	Liu, P., Zhang, H., Long, X., Wang, W., Zhan, D., Meng, X., ... & Chen, R. (2020). Management of COVID‐19 patients in Fangcang shelter hospital: clinical practice and effectiveness analysis. The Clinical Respiratory Journal.
[8]	Sahoo, S., Mehra, A., Dua, D., Suri, V., Malhotra, P., Yaddanapudi, L. N., ... & Grover, S. (2020). Psychological experience of patients admitted with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Asian Journal of Psychiatry.
[9]	Dai, L. L., Wang, X., Jiang, T. C., Li, P. F., Wang, Y., Wu, S. J., ... & Cheng, Z. (2020). Anxiety and depressive symptoms among COVID-19 patients in Jianghan Fangcang Shelter Hospital in Wuhan, China. Plos one, 15(8), e0238416.
[10]	Wang D, Hu B, Hu C, et al. Clinical characteristics of 138 hospitalized patients with 2019 Novel Coronavirus-infected Pneumonia in Wuhan, China. JAMA. 2020; 323(11):1061-1069.
[11]	Goyal, P., Choi, J. J., Pinheiro, L. C., Schenck, E. J., Chen, R., Jabri, A., ... & Hoffman, K. L. (2020). Clinical characteristics of Covid-19 in New York city. New England Journal of Medicine.
[12]	Richardson S, Hirsch JS, Narasimhan M, et al. Presenting Characteristics, Comorbidities, and Outcomes Among 5700 Patients Hospitalized With COVID-19 in the New York City Area. JAMA. 2020; 323(20): 2052-2059.
[13]	Alsofayan, Y. M., Althunayyan, S. M., Khan, A. A., Hakawi, A. M., & Assiri, A. M. (2020). Clinical characteristics of COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia: A national retrospective study. Journal of Infection and Public Health.
[14]	Garg, S. (2020). Hospitalization rates and characteristics of patients hospitalized with laboratory-confirmed coronavirus disease 2019—COVID-NET, 14 States, March 1-30, 2020. MMWR. Morbidity and mortality weekly report, 69.
[15]	Almalki, Z. S., Khan, M. F., Almazrou, S., Alanazi, A. S., Iqbal, M. S., Alqahtani, A., ... & Alahmari, A. K. (2020). Clinical Characteristics and Outcomes Among COVID-19 Hospitalized Patients with Chronic Conditions: A Retrospective Single-Center Study. Journal of multidisciplinary healthcare, 13, 1089.
[16]	Sahoo, S., Mehra, A., Suri, V., Malhotra, P., Yaddanapudi, N., Puri, G. D., & Grover, S. (2020). Lived experiences of the Corona Survivors (patients admitted in COVID wards): A Narrative real-life documented summaries of internalized guilt, shame, stigma, anger. Asian Journal of Psychiatry.
[17]	Sun, N et al. Qualitative study of the psychological experience of COVID-19 patients during hospitalization. Journal of Affective Disorders, 2021; 278: 15-22
[18]	Sun, N et al. A qualitative study on the psychological experience of caregivers of COVID-19 patients. American Journal of Infection Control 2020 (20), 30201-30207.