MO863COMPARISON OF ALL-CAUSE-MORTALITY BEFORE AND AFTER COVID-19 PANDEMIC IN A HEMODIALYSIS CENTER: A SUCCESSFUL PREVENTIVE PROTOCOL

Abstract

Background and AimsCOVID-19 has exerted a lot of pressure and concern on Hemodialysis ward managers. Being successful in patient education and, simultaneously, protecting the personnel and patients with in-time provision of sanitation and prevention protocols are mandatory to survive the pandemic. The aim of this study was to assess the success of our preventive measures in the dialysis center after application of our self-developed protocols.MethodCrude and age-adjusted mortality rates of two time frames, i.e. 4th January to 5th December 2019 and the same period in 2020 (before and after the start of pandemic) were compared. The data were processed with SPSS software version 26.ResultsDuring 4th January to 5th December 2019, the crude all-cause-morality rate of our hemodialysis center was 20.23% (51 out of 252 patients). Likewise, between 4th January 2020 to 5th December 2020, the crude all-cause-morality rate was 18.25% (46 out of 252 patients). Same result was yielded after age adjustment of the morality rates.ConclusionTailoring effective and timely preventive measures along with tireless education of patients can control all-cause-mortality and possibly COVID-19 excess mortality rates in dialysis centers.It seems that our preventive protocols which included strict patient and personnel screening, early referral to infectious specialist, clear isolation-sanitation protocols of COVID-19 positive cases and repeated patient and personnel education have been successful in surviving the pandemic till present.