Doctors are increasingly finding the corona pathogen in patients who are admitted because of other complaints. Criticism of the data situation is loud.
Hamburg/Berlin – Omikron is particularly infectious. The German Hospital Society (DKG) therefore expects more corona incidental findings. Are they less of a concern because they were discovered “by the way”? Christian Drosten would differentiate on the question.
According to dpa, the virologist from the Berlin Charité argued in a statement that the chance finds in clinics would now be relevant for the first time and would have to be included in the assessment of the situation picture – but nothing more. “The decisive factor is that the cases ‘because of Covid’ are still far in the majority even under Omicron and continue to dominate the picture of the situation.”
It should also be taken into account that the accidental findings also include those cases in which the infection could lead to the deterioration of an underlying disease, writes Drosten. This can also be observed in the current omicron wave.
Drosten on omicron chance finds: particularly complex treatment
There is a risk that people with relevant previous illnesses will not necessarily initially notice the classic corona symptoms, but rather a deterioration in their general condition. “But it would be misleading to assume that Sars-CoV-2 was a meaningless incidental finding in these cases,” emphasizes the virologist. After all, the reason for the deterioration is the infection. Against this background, treatments would often be particularly expensive.
The dpa correspondent Gisela Gross reported on the topic from the University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE). “So far, it has not been separately collected whether a patient is being treated with or because of Sars-CoV-2,” said UKE intensive care director Stefan Kluge (who is also on the Divi presidium). A lack of differentiation could make it difficult to interpret the situation over the next few weeks, critics warn.
Other voices do not consider the distinction to be that important because it makes no difference to the clinical burden. It was already possible that some infected people found by chance ended up in the statistics.
Corona test positive by chance: Mainly normal wards affected
It is not possible to say with certainty how large the proportion of patients who randomly tested positive is and could become nationwide. Kluge sees normal wards particularly affected. Surveys abroad came to shares of over 50 percent of the cases. There are probably significantly fewer in intensive care units.
So far, the clinical situation has been recorded as follows: The number of patients with corona infection in intensive care units can be called up on a daily basis in the Divi intensive care register. However, if it becomes clear on admission that it is not related to the Covid 19 diagnosis, for example in the case of a traffic accident, there is no obligation to report.
Corona case numbers alone are not enough for patient advocates
Some experts complain that better data on the situation on normal wards would be needed, especially with the omicron wave and milder courses. From their point of view, aspects such as the burden and severity of the disease should be given more importance in the assessment of the situation.
The pure number of cases, on the other hand, lost importance. The burden cannot be estimated with the available data, said Eugen Brysch, the board member of the German Foundation for Patient Protection. It is incomprehensible that even after two years of the pandemic, there are no up-to-date pictures of the situation, which also show, for example, the bed capacities and the occupancy of the respective wards. Brysch also expects more incidental findings because of the omicron mutation.
The Lauterbach Ministry is aware of the corona data problem
Is it still possible to make adjustments when recording patient data? Experts see the status of Germany in digitization as a fundamental problem. “We need automation,” said Kluge. So far, Covid 19 intensive care cases have been entered into the system manually every day. And faxes would be sent.
According to dpa correspondent Gross, the Federal Ministry of Health under Karl Lauterbach (SPD) is aware of the data problem. A solution is being worked on. Meanwhile, Kluge was skeptical as to whether improvements could be made in a timely manner and whether the additional effort would be justified. No matter how many incidental findings: “The burden is simply there.” (frs with dpa material)
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