Coronavirus disease 2019 screening in adult patients hospitalized due to pneumonia in a single hospital in Japan.
Background: In Japan, the number of patients with coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has increased since the first case was confirmed in January 2020, reaching more than ten thousand cases as of April 30, 2020. Nonetheless, a true prevalence of COVID-19 in Japan remains unknown due to testing restrictions and a lack of epidemiological research for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).
Methods: We investigated 37 consecutive pneumonia patients hospitalized in our hospital located in Utsunomiya, Japan, from February 25 to May 16, 2020. Both nasopharyngeal swabs and sputum were obtained and sent for SARS-CoV-2 PCR testing. The percentage of positive results for SARS-CoV-2 in the screened patients was determined.
Results: None of the patients reported in this study had contact with COVID-19 patients. Of the 37 screened patients, none had positive SARS-CoV-2 test results. None were clinically diagnosed with COVID-19.
Conclusions: Our findings suggest that COVID-19 was not prevalent in this region during this period. Further studies are needed to determine an accurate number or prevalence of COVID-19 in other regions of Japan.
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Posted 12 Jun, 2020
Coronavirus disease 2019 screening in adult patients hospitalized due to pneumonia in a single hospital in Japan.
Posted 12 Jun, 2020
Background: In Japan, the number of patients with coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has increased since the first case was confirmed in January 2020, reaching more than ten thousand cases as of April 30, 2020. Nonetheless, a true prevalence of COVID-19 in Japan remains unknown due to testing restrictions and a lack of epidemiological research for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).
Methods: We investigated 37 consecutive pneumonia patients hospitalized in our hospital located in Utsunomiya, Japan, from February 25 to May 16, 2020. Both nasopharyngeal swabs and sputum were obtained and sent for SARS-CoV-2 PCR testing. The percentage of positive results for SARS-CoV-2 in the screened patients was determined.
Results: None of the patients reported in this study had contact with COVID-19 patients. Of the 37 screened patients, none had positive SARS-CoV-2 test results. None were clinically diagnosed with COVID-19.
Conclusions: Our findings suggest that COVID-19 was not prevalent in this region during this period. Further studies are needed to determine an accurate number or prevalence of COVID-19 in other regions of Japan.