COVID-19 Management at IHU Méditerranée Infection: A One-Year Experience

Philippe Brouqui (1, 2) , Michel Drancourt (1, 2) , Didier Raoult (1, 2)

1 MEPHI - Microbes évolution phylogénie et infections
2 IHU Marseille - Institut Hospitalier Universitaire Méditerranée Infection

The Hospital-University Institute (IHU) Méditerranée Infection features a 27,000 square meter building hosting 700 employees and 75 hospitalized patients in the center of Marseille, France. Method: Previous preparedness in contagious disease management allowed the IHU to manage the COVID-19 outbreak by continuing adaptation for optimal diagnosis, care and outcome. We report here the output of this management. Results: From 5 March 2020, and 26 April 2021, 608,313 PCR tests were provided for 424,919 patients and 44,089 returned positive. A total of 23,390 patients with COVID-19 were followed at IHU with an overall case fatality ratio of 1.7%. Of them 20,270 were followed as outpatients with an overall CFR of 0.17%. We performed 24,807 EKG, 5759 low dose CT Scanner, and 18,344 serology. Of the 7643 nasopharyngeal samples inoculated in cell cultures 3317 (43.3%) yielded SARS-Cov-2 isolates. Finally, 7370 SARS-Cov-2 genomes were analyzed, allowing description of the first genetic variants and their implication in the epidemiologic curves. Continuous clinical care quality evaluation provided the opportunity for 155 publications allowing a better understanding of the disease and improvement of care and 132 videos posted on the IHU Facebook network, totaling 60 million views and 390,000 followers, and dealing with COVID-19, outbreaks, epistemology, and ethics in medicine. Conclusions: During this epidemic, IHU Méditerranée Infection played the role for which it has been created; useful clinical research to guarantee a high-quality diagnostic and care for patient and a recognized expertise.

Keywords: pandemic; preparedness; adaptation; autonomy in decision-making; leadership; rerouting of tests; drug repurposing; unrestricted access to care

Domains: Life Sciences [q-bio]; Microbiology and Parasitology; Bacteriology; Life Sciences [q-bio]; Microbiology and Parasitology; Virology; Life Sciences [q-bio]; Microbiology and Parasitology; Parasitology; Life Sciences [q-bio]; Human health and pathology; Cardiology and cardiovascular system; Life Sciences [q-bio]; Human health and pathology; Emerging diseases; Life Sciences [q-bio]; Human health and pathology; Infectious diseases

Philippe Brouqui, Michel Drancourt, Didier Raoult. COVID-19 Management at IHU Méditerranée Infection: A One-Year Experience. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 2021, 10 (13), pp.2881. ⟨10.3390/jcm10132881⟩. ⟨hal-03333761⟩