Clinical evolution, management and outcomes of patients with COVID-19 admitted at Tygerberg Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa : a research protocol
Date
2020-08-06
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
BMJ Publishing Group
Abstract
Introduction The outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 virus
causing COVID-19, declared a global pandemic by the
WHO, is a novel infection with a high rate of morbidity
and mortality. In South Africa, 55 421 cases have been
confirmed as of 10 June 2020, with most cases in the
Western Cape Province. Coronavirus leaves us in a
position of uncertainty regarding the best clinical approach
to successfully manage the expected high number of
severely ill patients with COVID-19. This presents a
unique opportunity to gather data to inform best practices
in clinical approach and public health interventions to
control COVID-19 locally. Furthermore, this pandemic
challenges our resolve due to the high burden of HIV and
tuberculosis (TB) in our country as data are scarce. This
study endeavours to determine the clinical presentation,
severity and prognosis of patients with COVID-19 admitted
to our hospital.
Methods and analysis The study will use multiple
approaches taking into account the evolving nature
of the COVID-19 pandemic. Prospective observational
design to describe specific patterns of risk predictors
of poor outcomes among patients with severe
COVID-19 admitted to Tygerberg Hospital. Data will be
collected from medical records of patients with severe
COVID-19 admitted at Tygerberg Hospital. Using the
Cox proportional hazards model, we will investigate the
association between the survival time of patients with
COVID-19 in relation to one or more of the predictor
variables including HIV and TB.
Ethics and dissemination The research team obtained
ethical approval from the Health Research Ethics
Committee of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences,
Stellenbosch University and Research Committee of the
Tygerberg Hospital. All procedures for the ethical conduct
of scientific investigation will be adhered to by the
research team. The findings will be disseminated in clinical
seminars, scientific forums and conferences targeting
clinical care providers and policy-makers.
Description
CITATION: Allwood, B. W. et al. 2020. Clinical evolution, management and outcomes of patients with COVID-19 admitted at Tygerberg Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa : a research protocol. BMJ Open, 10:e039455, doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2020-039455.
The original publication is available at https://bmjopen.bmj.com
The original publication is available at https://bmjopen.bmj.com
Keywords
COVID-19 (Disease) -- Patients -- Management, SARS-CoV-2 disease, Public health administration, Clinical epidemiology
Citation
Allwood, B. W. et al. 2020. Clinical evolution, management and outcomes of patients with COVID-19 admitted at Tygerberg Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa : a research protocol. BMJ Open, 10:e039455, doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2020-039455.