Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34751240›Full record

ArticleAfrican journal of emergency medicine : Revue africaine de la medecine d'urgence2022

Epidemiological profile and performance of triage decision-making process of COVID-19 suspected cases in southern Tunisia.

Maissa Ben Jmaa, Houda Ben Ayed, Mondher Kassis, Mariem Ben Hmida, Maroua Trigui, Hanen Maamri, Nouha Ketata, Sourour Yaich, Jihene Trabelsi, Yosra Mejdoub and 6 more

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In one paragraph

Article in African journal of emergency medicine : Revue africaine de la medecine d'urgence, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
0.4field-weighted citation impact, top 36% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed, 6 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Review
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

16 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Maissa Ben JmaaPreventive Medicine and Hygiene Department, Hedi Chaker University Hospital, University of Sfax, Tunisia.
Houda Ben AyedPreventive Medicine and Hygiene Department, Hedi Chaker University Hospital, University of Sfax, Tunisia.
Mondher KassisDepartment of Social Medicine, Faculty of Medicine of Sfax, University of Sfax, Tunisia.
Mariem Ben HmidaDepartment of Social Medicine, Faculty of Medicine of Sfax, University of Sfax, Tunisia.
Maroua TriguiCommunity Health and Epidemiology Department, Hedi Chaker University Hospital, University of Sfax, Tunisia.
Hanen MaamriCommunity Health and Epidemiology Department, Hedi Chaker University Hospital, University of Sfax, Tunisia.
Nouha KetataPreventive Medicine and Hygiene Department, Hedi Chaker University Hospital, University of Sfax, Tunisia.
Sourour YaichCommunity Health and Epidemiology Department, Hedi Chaker University Hospital, University of Sfax, Tunisia.
Jihene TrabelsiCommunity Health and Epidemiology Department, Hedi Chaker University Hospital, University of Sfax, Tunisia.
Yosra MejdoubCommunity Health and Epidemiology Department, Hedi Chaker University Hospital, University of Sfax, Tunisia.
Manel TurkiDepartment of Pharmacy, Hedi Chaker University Hospital, Sfax, Tunisia.
Chakib MarrakchiInfectious Diseases Department, Hedi Chaker University Hospital, University of Sfax, Tunisia.
Sami KammounDepartment of Pneumology, Hedi Chaker University Hospital, Sfax, Tunisia.
Mounir Ben JemaaInfectious Diseases Department, Hedi Chaker University Hospital, University of Sfax, Tunisia.
Habib FekiPreventive Medicine and Hygiene Department, Hedi Chaker University Hospital, University of Sfax, Tunisia.
Jamel DamakCommunity Health and Epidemiology Department, Hedi Chaker University Hospital, University of Sfax, Tunisia.
University of Sfax · TNHopital Universitaire Hedi Chaker · TN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionDuring an epidemic, screening processes can play a crucial role in limiting the spread of the infection. The aim of this study was to describe the epidemiological profile of COVID-19 suspected cases and to evaluate the performance of the triage process in predicting COVID-19 in Southern Tunisia.

methodsIt was a prospective study including all patients consulting to the Hedi Chaker University Hospital departments from March to June 2020. A clinical triage score (CTS) was used to assess the risk of the infection and to refer patients to the appropriate part of the facility accordingly.

resultsOverall, 862 patients were enrolled, among whom 505 patients (58.6%) were classified as suspected cases (CTS ≥4). Of these, 46.9% (n = 237) were of mild form. Samples were collected from 215 patients (24.9%), among whom five were COVID-19 positive, representing a positive rate of 2.3%. The in-hospital cumulative incidence rate of COVID-19 was 580/100000 patients. The total daily incidence decreased significantly during the study period (p < 0.001, chi-square for linear trend = 25.6). At a cut-off of four, the CTS had a sensitivity of 40%, a specificity of 32.4%, and negative and positive predictive values of 95.8% and 1.4%, respectively. DISCUSSION: Although the triage process based on the CTS was not as performant as the RT-PCR, it was crucial to interrupt virus spread among hospitalized patients in "COVID-19-free departments".

Indexed as

COVID-19EpidemiologyScoreTrendsTriage

Identifiers

PMID34751240
PMCPMC8566344
OpenAlexW3213867896

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.