Radiography-based triage for COVID-19 in the Emergency Department in a Spanish cohort of patients

Evaluation of Admission Chest X-Ray Findings in Patients With Respiratory Infection During the COVID-19 Pandemic

AIMS

To evaluate the prevalence of X-ray findings in hospitalized patients requiring hospitalization with suspected Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection and potential differences in the laboratory values and clinical outcomes related to the presence of abnormal chest X-ray (CXR) findings.

METHODS

 A total of 117 patients suspected of COVID-19 pneumonia and hospitalized with symptoms of lower respiratory tract disease were included in this study. Patients were divided into subgroups according to COVID-19 diagnosis and statistical comparisons were made according to CXR findings.

RESULTS

 In our cohort, CXR abnormalities were more common in patients with confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis and were associated with increased mortality. Patients with abnormal chest X-rays had a significantly lower PaO₂/FiO₂ ratio both in the COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 groups.

CONCLUSION

CXR is a routine examination in all patients with symptoms of lower respiratory tract disease and its findings relate to in-hospital mortality and PaO₂/FiO₂ ratio. Thus, it can be a significant measure of disease severity, especially in resource restrained settings and emergency situations such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

Management of COVID-19 Patients in the Emergency Department

COVID-19 is an emerging disease of global public health concern. As the pandemic overwhelmed emergency departments (EDs), a restructuring of emergency care delivery became necessary in many hospitals. Furthermore, with more than 2000 papers being published each week, keeping up with ever-changing information has proven to be difficult for emergency physicians. The aim of the present review is to provide emergency physician with a summary of the current literature regarding the management of COVID-19 patients in the emergency department.