About the project
The primary aim of the completed CODEX+ Monitor project was to optimise pandemic management. To this end, daily reported routine data (billing data) of SARS-CoV-2 infected patients at German university hospitals was collected and made available on the NUM dashboard at coronadashboard.ukbonn.de.
In addition, the question of whether inpatients with positive SARS-CoV-2 detection were hospitalised because of or with SARS-CoV-2 was investigated.
As part of the ongoing NUM-RDP and NUM-DIZ projects, a concept was developed to utilise the NUM dashboard for non-SARS-CoV-2 infections and future pandemics.
The primary objective of the CODEX+ Monitor adhoc project (a work package of the CODEX+ project) was to optimise pandemic management through up-to-date monitoring of inpatients with SARS-CoV-2 infections at German university hospitals. In addition, the question was to be investigated as to whether inpatients with a SARS-CoV-2 infection or due to a COVID-19 disease were treated as inpatients (hospitalisation rate 2.0).
At that time, there was no distinction made on admission between patients admitted for COVID-19 disease and patients hospitalised with SARS-CoV-2 infection for other reasons. The previously assessed ratio of infected to non-infected patients was not sufficiently informative, as this could be explained both by high hospitalisation rates of infected patients and by very high infection rates among inpatients admitted for other diseases. Against this background, an adjustment of the definition of the hospitalisation rate - the hospitalisation rate 2.0 - was necessary.
The NUM dashboard at https://coronadashboard.ukbonn.de provides a tool for cross-site, near-real-time monitoring of the care situation and patient characteristics in German university medicine. The data set description, which complies with data protection regulations, includes essential new parameters that are also relevant for pandemic monitoring and control, such as the SARS-CoV-2 immunisation status of patients, the structured presentation of SARS-CoV-2 variant diagnostics and distribution, as well as information on whether treatment is due to or with SARS-CoV-2.
The number of sites participating in the dashboard, which provided data automatically on a daily basis, was increased to 15 university hospitals. This enabled up-to-date reporting of all inpatient cases with differentiation of SARS-CoV-2-related treatment cases. This made it possible to determine who actually had to be treated for COVID-19 and the additional burden this places on a hospital. This can facilitate the management of occupancy and staffing requirements and indicate an earlier clinical assessment of the severity of the disease in the event of future virus variants or declining vaccination effectiveness. In addition, targeted countermeasures can be initiated earlier. As part of the NUM-RDP and NUM-DIZ projects, a concept was developed to use the NUM dashboard for non-SARS-CoV-2 infections and future pandemics.