Frontiers in Medicine (Aug 2020)

Measures to Maintain a SARS-CoV-2 Negative Inpatient Hematological Unit in the Midst of the COVID-19 Pandemic

  • Almudena Cabero-Martínez,
  • Fermín Sánchez-Guijo,
  • Lucía López-Corral,
  • Estefanía Pérez,
  • Alejandro Avendaño,
  • Mónica Baile,
  • Mónica Cabrero,
  • Ana-Africa Martín,
  • Angela Rodríguez,
  • Balbina Pérez,
  • Felipe Peña-Muñoz,
  • Luz-Gema Román,
  • Danylo Palomino,
  • Lourdes López-Vázquez,
  • María-Belén Vidriales,
  • Marcos González-Diaz,
  • María-Victoria Mateos,
  • María-Dolores Caballero

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmed.2020.00462
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 7

Abstract

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The University Hospital of Salamanca, in Spain, had its first COVID-19 case on March 1st and as of May 11th, we had 1,100 positive cases. Based on the vulnerability of patients with blood cancers, on March 9th, the Hematology Department developed a protocol, amended as the new information was available, to maintain the Hematology Unit as a “free COVID-19 island.” The protocol included symptom-based surveys and screening tests to patients, caregivers, and healthcare personnel to identify early potential positive cases and prevent its spread. Between March 9 and April 28, 32 asymptomatic patients and caregivers were tested and 68 rT-PCR diagnostic assays have been performed with two positive results. A 106 healthcare workers have been tested (208 rT-PCR) and seven of them were positive. In summary, the implementation of preemptive measures after the first case appeared allowed us to be able to provide treatment to our patients.

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