Explanation of follow-up and education after discharge of COVID-19 patients in Iran

Background and objective: With the rapid spread of COVID -19 in China and subsequently in other parts of the world, World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the outbreak of the virus to be a public health emergency worldwide. Considering the lack of standard treatment and effective vaccines for the novel coronavirus, the best solution is to know the epidemiology of the disease and avoid infection and prevent its spread. The aim of the present study was to explain of follow-up and education after discharge of COVID-19 patients in IranMethods: The present descriptive and analytical study was conducted in 2020. The statistical population includes all COVID-19 patients who were discharged from public, private and social security hospitals in Mazandaran province. Considering the limitations of the statistical population, complete enumeration sampling was used. The sample size was 14,625 discharged patients. The data collection tool was based on the information record form "follow-up of the treatment process of discharged COVID-19 patients" which was prepared based on the opinion of 15 experts in three sections (demographic, clinical characteristics, follow-up of the treatment process). Data analysis was carried out using descriptive statistics and regression test in SPSS software ver. 21.Results: Out of 14,625 COVID -19-related admissions, 35.8% of patients were over 65 years old. Patients were transferred to ICU in of 13% cases, with the highest ICU admission rates was observed among those aged 65 and over. The most common underlying disease (46.7%) was diabetes and the most common symptom upon admission was fever (higher than 38 °C) (44.8%). A total of 47% of discharged patients were readmitted. A total of 14.5% of patients infected their family members with COVID-19 and 57.82% of them adhered to the sanitary principles and self-quarantine, which varied in different months. This figure improved after following-up the treatment process of discharged patients Conclusion: Following-up the treatment process of discharge patients led to an increase in hygiene compliance and a reduction in infection rate among of the patient's family members and readmission rate. Therefore, appropriate telephone follow-up is recommended as a low-cost method to shorten the recovery period of patients, prevent other members of the patient's family from contracting the disease, and diagnose exacerbation of symptoms among discharged patients.

Keywords:

Coronavirus , Covid-19 , education , discharge , patient