Demographics and Outcomes of Initial Phase of COVID-19 Medicines Delivery Units Across 4 UK Centers During Peak B1.1.529 Omicron Epidemic: A Service Evaluation

• Published in: Open forum infectious diseases 2022-10, Vol.9 (10), p.ofac527-ofac527
• Main Authors: Brown, Michael, Saund, Jasjot, Qureshi, Azka, Plowright, Megan, Drury, Katie, Gahir, Joshua, Simpson, Tom, Newman, Thomas, Adams, Kate, Galloway, James, Durairaj, Kezia, Elgizouli, Kamla, Rampling, Tommy, Cole, Joby, Easom, Nicholas, Goodman, Anna L, Marks, Michael
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Major
• ISSN: 2328-8957; 2328-8957
• DOI: 10.1093/ofid/ofac527

COVID-19 medicines delivery units (CMDU) were established in late December 2021 to deliver early antiviral therapy to patients classified as at risk with the aim of preventing hospitalization. We performed a service evaluation at 4 CMDUs in England. We assessed demographics and triage outcomes of CMDU referral, uptake of antiviral therapy, and the rate of subsequent hospitalizations within 2 weeks of CMDU referral. Over a 3-week period, 4788 patients were referred and 3989 were ultimately assessed by a CMDU. Overall, 832 of the patients referred (17%) were judged eligible for treatment and 628 (13%) were ultimately prescribed an antiviral agent. The overall rate of admission within 14 days was 1%. Patients who were admitted were significantly older than those who did not require hospitalization. Of patients prescribed molnupiravir and sotrovimab, 1.8% and 3.2%, respectively, were admitted. There was a high volume of referrals to CMDU service during the initial surge of the Omicron wave in the United Kingdom. A minority of patients were judged to be eligible for therapy. In a highly vaccinated population, the overall hospitalization rate was low.