title: Management of inpatients exposed to an outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).
abstract: This is a prospective observational study of a cohort of inpatients exposed to a severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak. Strict infection control policies were instituted. The 70 patients exposed to the SARS outbreak were isolated from the rest of the hospital. They were triaged, quarantined and cohorted in three open plan wards. Selective isolation was carried out immediately when symptoms and signs suspicious of SARS manifested clinically. The patients' ages ranged from 21 to 90 years and 56% had surgery before the quarantine. Sixteen patients with unexplained fever during the period of quarantine were isolated, seven of whom were eventually diagnosed with probable SARS. The crude incidence of SARS in our cohort was 10%. The SARS case fatality was 14%. No secondary transmission of the SARS virus within the cohort was observed. Strict infection control, together with appropriate triaging, cohorting and selective isolation, is an effective and practical model of intervention in cohorts exposed to a SARS outbreak. Such a management strategy eases the logistic constraints imposed by demands for large numbers of isolation facilities in the face of a massive outbreak.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Singapore General Hospital, Outram Road, Singapore 169608, Singapore. gsutym@sgh.com.sg
authors.forename: Y-M
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.forename: P K H
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Chow
authors.forename: B-H
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kurup
authors.forename: B K T
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.forename: F L S
authors.initials: FL
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Seldrup
authors.forename: D M K
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Heng
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ang
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Green
authors.forename: C-Y
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.forename: K-C
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Soo
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D017053:Infection Control / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010356:Patient Isolation; D011446:Prospective Studies; D045169:Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D012846:Singapore / Q000453:epidemiology