COVID-19 AS A NOSOCOMIAL INFECTION

Compared to the year of the COVID-19 (COronaVIrus Disease 2019) pandemic outbreak, the year 2023 witnessed an increased number of cases when patients with new coronavirus infection were transferred from non-infectious hospitals to infectious ones, which led to the assumption of the transition of SARS-CoV-2 (Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus 2) infection to the category of nosocomial infections.

Objective of the study: to study the dynamics of changes in the frequency of hospitalization of patients with a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 in the Irkutsk Regional Infectious Diseases Clinical Hospital from noninfectious hospitals to confirm the hypothesis about transition of the new coronavirus infection to the category of nosocomial infections.

Materials and methods of the study. A retrospective analysis of 510 inpatient observation medical records of patients with a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 who were admitted to the Irkutsk Regional Clinical Institution and were treated in 2020 (250 medical records) and 2023 (260 medical records) was carried out. Statistical processing of the study results was carried out using the data analysis package in Microsoft Excel and online calculators on the website https://medstatistic.ru/index.php. Statistical significance was assessed at p≤0.05.

Conclusion. The results obtained showed that over time the new coronavirus infection acquires features of nosocomial infections. This study demonstrates an increased average age of patients, as well as an increase in the number of patients with different comorbidities with a simultaneous shorter staying at hospital due to a decreased proportion of severely ill patients. In both the periods compared, women predominated among patients.

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