Prediction model to identify infectious COVID-19 patients in the emergency department.

Background: Real-time reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) has been the gold standard for diagnosing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) but has a lag time for the results. An effective prediction algorithm for infectious COVID-19, utilized at the emergency department (ED), may reduce the risk of healthcare-associated COVID-19.

Objective: To develop a prototypic prediction model for infectious COVID-19 at the time of presentation to the ED.