病院敷地外に設営された本邦初の新型コロナウイルス感染症中等症専用の臨時仮設医療施設についての報告：神奈川県第2波までの経過(A report of a 180–bed temporary prefabricated field hospital for COVID–19 in Japan)

ABSTRACT Background: On May 18, 2020, Kanagawa Prefecture in Japan set up a 180–bed temporary prefabricated field hospital to provide care to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID–19) patients. The field hospital was designated as a COVID–19 specific medical institution exclusively for moderately ill patients, with mainly elderly patients aged over 65 years, patients with underlying diseases at a high risk of severe COVID–19, and patients with oxygen demands not requiring mechanical ventilation. The purpose of this report is to describe the details of the field hospital and the epidemiological characteristics of the patients. Methods: COVID–19 patients admitted between May 18 and October 23, 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. Results: During the study period, 399 patients were hospitalized. Of the 388 new cases, oxygen was administered to 57 patients (14.7%) at the time of admission and 103 patients (26.5%) during hospitalization. Of the 103 patients, 90 (87.3%) received steroid treatment. Thirty–seven patients (9.5%) had a high oxygen demand of 6L/min or more; of these, 12 (3.1%) were transferred to intensive care facilities, and 15 (3.9%) died. Conclusion: The temporary COVID–19 field hospital dedicated to moderate illness possibly contributed to preventing progression to critical COVID–19.