Vascular Health Research Group of Girona, Institut Universitari per a la Recerca en Atenció Primària Jordi Gol i Gurina, Girona, Spain.
Institut d'Investigació Biomèdica de Girona, Girona, Spain.
JMIR Public Health Surveill. 2022 Jan 6;8(1):e30006. doi: 10.2196/30006.
A description of individuals with SARS-CoV-2 infection comparing the first and second waves could help adapt health services to manage this highly transmissible infection.
We aimed to describe the epidemiology of individuals with suspected SARS-CoV-2 infection, and the characteristics of patients with a positive test comparing the first and second waves in Catalonia, Spain.
This study had 2 stages. First, we analyzed daily updated data on SARS-CoV-2 infection in individuals from Girona (Catalonia). Second, we compared 2 retrospective cohorts of patients with a positive reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction or rapid antigen test for SARS-CoV-2. The severity of patients with a positive test was defined by their admission to hospital, admission to intermediate respiratory care, admission to the intensive care unit, or death. The first wave was from March 1, 2020, to June 24, 2020, and the second wave was from June 25, 2020, to December 8, 2020.
The numbers of tests and cases were lower in the first wave than in the second wave (26,096 tests and 3140 cases in the first wave versus 140,332 tests and 11,800 cases in the second wave), but the percentage of positive results was higher in the first wave than in the second wave (12.0% versus 8.4%). Among individuals with a positive diagnostic test, 818 needed hospitalization in the first wave and 680 in the second; however, the percentage of hospitalized individuals was higher in the first wave than in the second wave (26.1% versus 5.8%). The group that was not admitted to hospital included older people and those with a higher percentage of comorbidities in the first wave, whereas the characteristics of the groups admitted to hospital were more alike.
Screening systems for SARS-CoV-2 infection were scarce during the first wave, but were more adequate during the second wave, reflecting the usefulness of surveillance systems to detect a high number of asymptomatic infected individuals and their contacts, to help control this pandemic. The characteristics of individuals with SARS-CoV-2 infection in the first and second waves differed substantially; individuals in the first wave were older and had a worse health condition.
描述比较 SARS-CoV-2 感染的第一波和第二波的个体，可以帮助调整卫生服务以管理这种高度传染性的感染。
我们旨在描述疑似 SARS-CoV-2 感染个体的流行病学特征，并比较西班牙加泰罗尼亚地区第一波和第二波中检测呈阳性的患者的特征。
本研究分两个阶段进行。首先，我们分析了来自西班牙加泰罗尼亚吉罗纳的 SARS-CoV-2 感染个体的每日更新数据。其次，我们比较了两批回顾性队列的患者，这些患者的 SARS-CoV-2 逆转录聚合酶链反应或快速抗原检测呈阳性。通过患者住院、入住中级呼吸护理病房、入住重症监护病房或死亡来定义检测呈阳性患者的严重程度。第一波是从 2020 年 3 月 1 日至 6 月 24 日，第二波是从 2020 年 6 月 25 日至 12 月 8 日。
第一波的检测和病例数量低于第二波（第一波有 26096 次检测和 3140 例病例，第二波有 140332 次检测和 11800 例病例），但第一波的阳性检测结果百分比高于第二波（12.0%比 8.4%）。在检测呈阳性的个体中，第一波有 818 人需要住院治疗，第二波有 680 人需要住院治疗；然而，第一波的住院患者比例高于第二波（26.1%比 5.8%）。第一波未住院的人群包括老年人和合并症比例较高的人群，而住院人群的特征更为相似。
第一波期间 SARS-CoV-2 感染的筛查系统较为缺乏，但第二波期间更为充分，这反映了监测系统在发现大量无症状感染个体及其接触者方面的有效性，有助于控制这一流行病。第一波和第二波的 SARS-CoV-2 感染个体的特征有很大的不同；第一波的个体年龄较大，健康状况较差。
