Projects per year
Abstract
Objective: The aim of the present study was to describe the epidemiology and clinical features of patients presenting to the ED with suspected and confirmed COVID-19 during Australia's ‘second wave’. Methods: The COVID-19 ED (COVED) Project is an ongoing prospective cohort study in Australian EDs. This analysis presents data from 12 sites across four Australian states for the period from 1 July to 31 August 2020. All adult patients who met the criteria for ‘suspected COVID-19’ and underwent testing for SARS-CoV-2 in the ED were eligible for inclusion. Study outcomes included a positive SARS-CoV-2 test result, mechanical ventilation and in-hospital mortality. Results: There were 106 136 presentations to the participating EDs and 12 055 (11.4%; 95% confidence interval [CI] 11.2–11.6) underwent testing for SARS-CoV-2. Of these, 255 (2%) patients returned a positive result. Among positive cases, 13 (5%) received mechanical ventilation during their hospital admission compared to 122 (2%) of the SARS-CoV-2 negative patients (odds ratio 2.7; 95% CI 1.5–4.9, P = 0.001). Nineteen (7%) SARS-CoV-2 positive patients died in hospital compared to 212 (3%) of the SARS-CoV-2 negative patients (odds ratio 2.3; 95% CI 1.4–3.7, P = 0.001). Strong clinical predictors of the SARS-CoV-2 test result included self-reported fever, sore throat, bilateral infiltrates on chest X-ray, and absence of a leucocytosis on first ED blood tests (P < 0.05). Conclusions: In this prospective multi-site study during Australia's ‘second wave’, a substantial proportion of ED presentations required SARS-CoV-2 testing and isolation. Presence of SARS-CoV-2 on nasopharyngeal swab was associated with an increase in the odds of death and mechanical ventilation in hospital.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 331-342 |
Number of pages | 12 |
Journal | EMA - Emergency Medicine Australasia |
Volume | 33 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Apr 2021 |
Keywords
- COVID-19
- emergency
- isolation
- quality improvement
- registry
Projects
- 3 Finished
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Improving the management and risk assessment of paracetamol overdose
National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) (Australia)
1/01/19 → 31/12/22
Project: Research
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Optimising Emergency and Trauma Systems through evidence based pathways
1/01/18 → 31/12/22
Project: Research