COVID-19 recovery at home possible for most patients
Researchers confirm the safety of home discharge for low-risk patients
with COVID-19
Date:
October 13, 2020
Source:
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Summary:
A new study shows that the vast majority of patients who visited
the Ruth and Harry Roman Emergency Department at Cedars-Sinai
with suspected COVID-19 (novel coronavirus) symptoms, and who were
treated and sent home to recuperate, recovered within a week.
FULL STORY ==========================================================================
A new study shows that the vast majority of patients who visited the
Ruth and Harry Roman Emergency Department at Cedars-Sinai with suspected COVID-19 (novel coronavirus) symptoms, and who were treated and sent
home to recuperate, recovered within a week.
==========================================================================
The study, published by the Journal of the American College of Emergency Physicians Open, showed that none of those patients died from the virus
and fewer than 1% required intensive care.
"When the pandemic began there was minimal evidence to guide us as to
who should be hospitalized and who could be sent home," said Sam Torbati,
MD, co- chair and medical director of the Ruth and Harry Roman Emergency Department at Cedars-Sinai. "In real time, we began developing our
criteria for who needed hospitalization for monitoring, intensive care,
and who could recover at home.
And this study shows our patients received the appropriate level of care."
In the retrospective study, researchers looked at the outcomes of 452
patients who sought care at the Emergency Department for COVID-19 symptoms between March 12 and April 6, 2020.
The study showed that the patients, with a median age of 38, had
experienced flu-like symptoms two to three days before they went to the Emergency Department. After being given a comprehensive care plan and
then discharged home, it took an average of between five and seven days
for patients to recover at home.
"What we learned from the study is that outpatient management is
safe for most COVID-19 patients who have normal vital signs and no comorbidities," said first author Carl Berdahl, MD. "However, patients
should be instructed to return to the Emergency Department for worsening symptoms, including labored breathing." The study, which showed that
no patients died, also found:
* Sixty-one percent of the patients in the sample had no
comorbidities.
* Thirteen percent of patients who were sent home came back to the
Emergency Department for additional care.
* The inpatient admission rate at 30 days was 4%, with fewer than
1% of
patients requiring intensive care.
"The takeaway for the public is that emergency clinicians can safely
and readily identify patients with COVID-19 who are safe for outpatient monitoring," said Torbati. "Those who meet criteria for discharge are
at very low risk of getting worse and requiring hospitalization."
========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Cedars-Sinai_Medical_Center. Note:
Content may be edited for style and length.
========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Carl T. Berdahl, Nicole C Glennon, Andrew J Henreid, Sam
S. Torbati. The
safety of home discharge for low‐risk emergency department
patients presenting with coronavirus‐like symptoms during
the COVID‐19 pandemic: A retrospective cohort study. Journal
of the American College of Emergency Physicians Open, 2020; DOI:
10.1002/emp2.12230 ==========================================================================
Link to news story:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/10/201013124151.htm
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