A small cluster of COVID‒19 in an outpatient hemodialysis facility

Abstract

Of the 110 patients who had undergone outpatient maintenance hemodialysis and 16 staff members at our facility, 3 patients and 3 nurses were diagnosed with COVID‒19 based on RT‒PCR tests for SARS‒CoV‒2 between April 1st and April 8th, 2020. Three elderly male patients presented with a cough and a fever, 2 of whom had diabetes mellitus with pseudobulbar palsy due to cerebral infarctions and were taking corticosteroids for pemphigoid. Two nurses developed fevers. After the outbreak of COVID‒19, all patients and staff members were screened for COVID‒19 using RT‒PCR, and one asymptomatic nurse was found to be positive for the disease. Three patients and one nurse were hospitalized, and the remaining 2 nurses remained at home. All of them recovered from COVID‒19. In July 2020, all of the patients and staff members, except for the 5 (excluding one in hospital) with a history of the disease, were negative for antibodies against SARS‒CoV‒2. Since then (until October 10th, 2020), we have not experienced any new cases of COVID‒19.