COMMENTARY

SARS

SARS: experience from the emergency department, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore

E Seow

Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Emergency Department, 11 Jalan Tan Tock Seng, Singapore, 308411; eillyne_seow@ttsh.com.sg

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Lessons learnt

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Keywords: SARS; severe acute respiratory syndrome

Abbreviations: PPE, personal protection equipment; ED, emergency department; ID, infectious disease; TTSH, Tan Tock Seng Hospital

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

The severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) entered Singapore through three young women, who were in Hong Kong from 20 to 24 February 2003.¹ They were infected by a doctor from Guangzhou by a chance encounter in the lift lobby of the hotel where all were staying.²

Two were admitted to Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) and one of them was what the World Heath Organisation (WHO) later described as a "super-spreader" (persons who directly infected 10 other persons³).

On the 22 March 2003, the Singapore government made a decision to centralise the care of suspect and probable cases of SARS including paediatric cases in TTSH. This facilitated the management of SARS patients and reduced the risk of secondary transmission of the disease.⁴ Ambulances were diverted and patients at the emergency department (ED) with non-SARS conditions who required hospitalisation were transferred to other hospitals.

The screening centre was initially . . . [Full text of this article]

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