Epidemiological characteristics of the COVID-19 outbreak in a secondary hospital in Spain

Abstract

Objectives In 2019 Chinese authorities alerted of the appearance of a cluster of cases of unknown pneumonia related to a new type of coronavirus. Spain is among the most affected countries. Our aim is to describe the cases of COVID-19 at Infanta Sofía University Hospital (Madrid), a public secondary hospital that increased its hospital beds to provide assistance during the outbreak. Methods Retrospective descriptive study of cases that met COVID-19 clinical diagnosis criteria or had a positive PCR test from February 27 to June 29, 2020. A description of demographic variables, hospital stay, mortality and the epidemiological curve was performed. Results Of 1,828 confirmed cases, 64.4% were hospitalised, 5.6% were admitted to the ICU. About 52.2% were male. The median age was 63.2 years. About 13.1% were nursing home residents. Nineteen percent were of Latin American origin of which 6.8% were admitted to the ICU. Overall case fatality was 14.6%. We observed a biphasic epidemiological curve. Conclusions Sixty to 79-year-old males were admitted and deceased more often than women. Mortality reached 14.7%. Latin Americans were admitted more often to the ICU. Further studies about epidemiological characteristics of COVID-19 in hospitals are necessary.